Pita Limjaroenrat on Thailand's 2026 Election, Regional Dynamics, and the New World Order
Standford APARC
Jun 8, 2026
Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of Thailand’s dissolved Move Forward Party and a pivotal voice in the nation’s pro-democracy movement, returns to Stanford University for a timely conversation on the country’s trajectory ahead.
In this conversation, Pita unpacks critical developments since Thailand's contentious 2023 general election. He analyzes the recent defeat of the progressive People's Party in the country's February 2026 snap election, the enduring influence of the military and old-style patronage networks, the government’s handling of economic recovery amid sluggish growth, and rising inequality in Thai society. He also weighs in on recent Cambodian-Thai border tensions, Thailand’s ambiguous stance on the crisis in Myanmar, ASEAN’s role and regional stability, as well as Thailand's geopolitical balancing act amid U.S.-China rivalries and a fragmenting world order.
Contents:
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00:00-01:21 // Introduction
01:22-09:25 // Thailand's 2023 Election and Its Outcomes
09:26-11:11 // A New Calling: Cultivating Next-Generation Leaders
11:12- 12:54 // Between Two 2026 Election Cycles in Thailand
12:55-23:50 // The Defeat of the People's Party in the February 2026 Election
23:50-26:02 // Thai-Cambodian Border Tensions
26:03-30:20 // The Crisis in Myanmar
30:21-33:11 // Middle Powers and the U.S.-China Competition
33:12-35:15 // Pita's Plan Ahead
35:16-1:17:20 // Audience Q&A
1:17:21-1:18:33 // Concluding Remarks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViQMs4V39hQ
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2315264695549097