Being A Foreign Academic Imprisoned in Thailand
Dr Paul Chambers guest hosted by Dr Bill Hayton, 20 November 2025 15.00 GMT Online
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What is it like to be wrongfully accused and imprisoned on political charges in Thailand? In this lecture, Dr Paul Chambers, a foreign academic living in Thailand for over thirty years, discusses his experience being the first foreign academic to be wrongfully accused and imprisoned for violating Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of Thailand’s Criminal Code and Computer Crimes Act. He was later forced to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, his passport was taken, and his visa was revoked by the state. He was then dismissed from his job as an Instructor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Naresuan University. The charges against him were eventually dropped and he was able to depart Thailand on May 29, 2025. However, his visa remains revoked and he has not been reinstated at Naresuan University. Military officials have continued to insist that they will find and bring new charges against him.
Dr Paul Chambers is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute, the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance, and the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. He is also the executive editor of the Asian Affairs: An American Review.
Chambers was a Lecturer and Special Advisor on International Affairs at the Center of ASEAN Community Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University between 2017-2025. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications. Recent works include Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia (NIAS, 2017) and Praetorian Kingdom: A History of Military Ascendancy in Thailand (ISEAS, 2024).
His research centres upon comparative politics (including civil-military relations) and international affairs in Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand.
Guest Host
Dr Bill Hayton is an Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House. He is a former BBC journalist who has worked across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He is the author of three books on Asia and the editor of the RSAA’s academic journal Asian Affairs.
