Thailand Becomes Southeast Asia’s Transnational Repression Hub
A sweeping new wave of research suggests Thailand has evolved into a regional anchor for transnational repression, a phenomenon where governments outside a dissident’s home country pressure, surveil, or detain critics who are living in exile. The pattern is not confined to a single policy shift or one agency’s action; it appears as a complex mix of porous legal protections, cross-border policing cooperation, and a political climate in which foreign critics feel increasingly exposed to intimidation beyond their borders. For Thai readers, the implications cut to the core of civil rights, academic freedom, and the sense of safety for activists, students, journalists, and diaspora communities who once believed exile might offer respite from persecution. In an era of digital tracing, family networks, and transnational media, the line between refuge and risk has grown dangerously blurry.