Yoshinori Nishizaki is an associate professor in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is the author of Political Authority and Provincial Identity in Thailand. His articles on Thai politics have appeared in the Journal of Asian Studies, Modern Asian Studies, and elsewhere.
"[A] major work that is poised to become an important resource for
anyone interested in modern Thai politics. . . . A fascinating
book. Nishizaki's reinterpretation of the entire period of modern
Thai political history through a family-based paradigm represents
an admirable endeavor to break away from a very limited set of
approaches that have long shaped our understanding of Thailand's
political dynamics. His book, in this sense, injects a breath of
fresh air into the field of Thai studies."--Contemporary Southeast
Asia
"A grand work of applied theory, expanding a provincial
power-structure analysis across the whole Thai nation. . . .
Nishizaki has constructed a study here that is unique, highly
engaging and that pushes Thai studies forward."--Global Asia
"A monumental achievement in the study of dynastic politics that is
worthy of widespread appreciation, consideration and
discussion."--Journal of the Siam Society
"A smart and engaging study of modern Thai politics that places
political families at the center of the action. . . . Provides a
valuable corrective to existing scholarship on Thailand that
downplays or misunderstands the significance of political families
and contributes theoretically to the study of democracy and
democratic breakdown. . . . A successful study chock-full of
insights."--Democracy and Autocracy
"Nishizaki is one of the keenest analysts of Thai politics working
today, and Dynastic Democracy just reinforces that opinion. This is
a welcome addition to a growing political science and sociology
literature on the causes and consequences of political
dynasties."--Allen Hicken, University of Michigan "A tour de force.
. . . This book should be a critical reference for scholars of Thai
politics. The detailed information on kinship networks presented in
this book is an invaluable source for understanding the intricate
connections of influential families, which are integral to the
contemporary Thai political fabric. Yoshinori Nishizaki's
creativity and tenacity in collecting, coding, analysing, and
visualising data from various archival sources serve as an
excellent example for history, sociology, and political science
students who want to conduct similar research in different
contexts."--Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
"Offers an important and illuminating analytical lens through which
to understand Thai politics over the past century. . . . Provides
an eye-opening refinement of existing understandings of both state
power and class relations in Thailand and a fine-grained
sociological analysis of dynastic entrenchment and endurance
unmatched in studies of South East Asia for its rigour and
richness."--South East Asia Research
"Unprecedented in providing long, detailed specifications of
numerous political families and their interlinkages with other
clans. . . . As the first book of its kind to construct lineages of
Thai political elite families linking past to present, as well as
their crucial significance to contemporary Thai politics, this work
is an excellent read."--Asian Affairs
"Nishizaki argues that Thailand has evolved a 'patrimonial dynastic
democracy, ' a political system in which family connections and
authoritarian structures obstruct the political will of the
majority. This thoroughly researched revisionist study ranging from
the 1930s to the present day will be a work of reference for those
interested in Thai politics and political networks for a long time
to come."--Chris Baker, coauthor of A History of Thailand
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