Pavin Chachavalpongpun is an Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, where he teaches on Southeast Asian politics. Holding a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, he is the author of several books, including “A Plastic Nation: The Curse of Thainess in Thai-Burmese Relations” and “Reinventing Thailand: Thaksin and His Foreign Policy.” He is also editor-in-chief of the online journal “Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia,” in which all articles are translated from English into Japanese, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Filipino and Vietnamese .