Professor Duncan McCargo

Professor of Southeast Asian Politics; POLIS Director of Research

Photo of Professor Duncan McCargo

I'm best known for my agenda-setting contributions to current debates on the politics of Thailand. Fluent in Thai, fascinated by Asia, I've spent several years in Thailand, most recently in war-torn Pattani.

I've also lived in Singapore, taught in Cambodia and Japan, and published on Indonesia and Vietnam. As I hate repeating myself, I change research topics regularly. I am committed to doing serious fieldwork. Time magazine wrote of my work 'No armchairs for this author… McCargo is the real McCoy.'

My ninth book, Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand (Cornell University Press 2008) won the Asia Society's inaugural Bernard Schwartz Book Prize for 2009, worth $20,000. Jury co-chair Professor Carol Gluck described it as a 'vivid on-the-ground account of the Thai insurgency showing how national politics, rather than minority religion, drives the violence that is too often ascribed either to ethnicity or Islam. This is a lesson that applies not only to Southeast Asia but to many parts of the world.'

I appear regularly on BBC radio and television, have written for The Guardian and Time magazine, and am often cited in media outlets ranging from The Economist to the New York Times. I have also given briefings to senior officials including UN staff and the President of the Thai Senate.

Research Interests

My main research interests lie in the politics of contemporary Thailand, including issues such as Buddhism, constitutionalism, political reform, the career of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the media, the monarchy, the role of the military, the Southern conflict, judicialization and the politics of justice.

I also focus on comparative politics in the Asia-Pacific region, including electoral politics, civil society, political transitions, and politics and media. I continue to visit Cambodia regularly.

Teaching

I teach 'Politics in Japan' (and have published two editions of a popular textbook based on this course), as well as 'Politics and International Relations of Pacific Asia', and the MA module 'Political Change in Southeast Asia'.

PhD Supervision

Seventeen of my PhD students have graduated since 1997. I am currently supervising several students working on Thailand and neighbouring countries.

I have supervised topics on the following Asia-specific areas:

Elections and political parties
Civil society
NGOs and protest movements
Environmental politics
Village-level politics
Public intellectuals
Politics of education
Politics of corruption

Key Publications

Please click on the top left of this page for a much fuller list

Books

McCargo, D.J. (2008) Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand, Cornell University Press
McCargo, D.J. (ed.) (2007) Rethinking Thailand's Southern Violence. First ed. National University of Singapore Press.
McCargo, D.J.; Pathmanand, U. (2005) The Thaksinization of Thailand. Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.
McCargo, D.J. (2003) Media and politics in Pacific Asia. Routledge.
McCargo, D.J. (ed.) (2002) Reforming Thai Politics. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.

Journals

McCargo, D.J. (2009), 'Thai politics as reality TV', Journal of Asian Studies, 68, (1), pp.7-19
McCargo, D.J. (2007) 'A hollow crown', New Left Review, January-February, pp.135–44
McCargo, D.J. (2005) 'Network monarchy and legitimacy crises in Thailand'. The Pacific Review, 18(4), pp.499-519