Thailand and the Insurgency in the South

The insurgency in southern Thailand has proven to be intractable over the last few years. The insurgents, who comprise several different groups, have largely retained the initiative in a series of relatively unsophisticated operations. Although involving ethnic Malay Muslims – and marked by an increasingly strong Islamist ideology – the insurgency has been predominantly ethnic rather than religious. External jihadist involvement has been minimal at best. The recent coup in Thailand may improve the odds of reaching some form of accommodation with the southern insurgents; but it is likely that the south will remain a continuing security problem for Bangkok

Accommodation · Criminology · Development economics · Ethnic group · Ideology · Insurgency · Malay · Odds · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Security forces · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies