Thailand Bans Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Politics, Authorises Seizure and Destruction

Academic handbook faces import ban and destruction

Thailand has prohibited the import of the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand, a volume bringing together 45 scholars across 37 chapters and 474 pages, under an order that allows police to confiscate and destroy copies. Anyone violating the restriction faces up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.

National Police Chief Samran Nualma signed the order on October 30, 2026, invoking Section 10 of the Printing Registration Act B.E. 2550 (2007). The restriction targets ordering or importing the foreign publication for distribution in Thailand. Police say its contents threaten national security, public order and public morality.

The handbook, published in English in August, was edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a professor at Kyoto University's Centre for Southeast Asian Studies who has lived in exile since Thailand's 2014 military coup. Its chapters examine the monarchy, military, protest movements and the use of the country's royal defamation law. The first edition, published in 2019, was not banned.

Pavin says the monarchy chapters prompted the decision. The government says it respects academic freedom while protecting security and public order, setting out the central disagreement over whether research into Thailand's most powerful institutions should face restrictions on circulation.

What the police order says

The Royal Thai Police order describes the handbook's articles as potentially harmful to national security and capable of causing public distress or encouraging unrest. Its operative restriction concerns bringing the publication into Thailand for distribution, with seizure and destruction available alongside criminal penalties.

The order is generally identified as No. 555/2569, using the Thai Buddhist calendar year corresponding to 2026, although one published transcription gives No. 455/2569. Publication in the Royal Gazette is dated November 4 in some accounts and November 5 in others; the signing date is consistently October 30, and the restriction was stated to take immediate effect.

Police did not identify particular chapters or passages they considered objectionable, and the order does not explicitly address electronic editions. Those omissions leave readers and academic institutions without a detailed explanation of which arguments prompted the ban or how authorities intend to handle digital access.

For organisations bringing printed copies into Thailand, the immediate consequence is concrete: an overseas order intended for distribution can expose those responsible to prosecution, while the books themselves can be taken and destroyed.

What changed in the second edition?

Pavin said the revision was intended to reflect political changes after the demonstrations of 2020, when young protesters made unprecedented demands for reform of both the monarchy and the military. The updated handbook examines the monarchy in the 21st century and the authorities' use of Section 112 of the Criminal Code, commonly called the lese majeste law.

The volume reaches beyond royal politics. Chapters cover legal tactics used against democratic opponents, youth movements seeking reform, state surveillance, violence in Thailand's southern border provinces, and gender and sexual rights. Its scope places the monarchy within a wider examination of how power operates and how different groups seek political and social change.

Pavin, the editor and a prominent critic of the monarchy, linked the prohibition directly to that subject matter:

Topics like this are why they decided to ban it. Thailand's democracy is backsliding, and book bans are a clear indicator of that.

The comparison with the 2019 edition matters because the earlier volume circulated without a prohibition. The new restriction therefore affects the edition intended to explain developments since the protests, rather than every edition bearing the handbook's name.

Two laws with different consequences

Section 10 of the Printing Registration Act gives the national police chief authority to prohibit the import of publications on grounds involving the monarchy, national security, public order or public morality. The law also permits confiscation and destruction. Section 27 provides penalties of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both for violating the import restriction.

Section 112 of the Criminal Code addresses a different offence: defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen, heir apparent or regent. A conviction carries between three and 15 years in prison for each offence. The handbook discusses this law, while the import ban itself relies on the printing legislation.

The difference matters to anyone following the case. The maximum prison term for violating the publication restriction is three years. A Section 112 conviction can carry a sentence five times that length for a single offence, based on the respective maximum terms of three and 15 years.

Thailand's 2007 printing law replaced an earlier system requiring permission to publish with a registration system. Publishers must disclose identifying information, and copies of published books must be sent to the National Library. The import restriction in Section 10 gives police a separate route to control foreign publications entering the country.

Students and libraries face the practical cost

Pavin described the handbook as an academic work written primarily for students, adding that most buyers were universities and libraries. A prohibition on importing copies therefore reaches institutions that buy books for teaching, research and shared collections, as well as commercial distributors.

A library copy can serve many readers over several years. Restricting its arrival affects access beyond the person who places the order, particularly when a large academic volume would otherwise be available for students to consult without buying their own copy.

The book's 45 contributors and 37 chapters also show the breadth of the publication affected. Police have restricted the whole volume, including its treatment of southern border violence, surveillance and sexual rights, alongside the monarchy material that Pavin believes prompted the decision.

Deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana described the government's position as balancing public protection with individual and academic freedoms. She said Thailand:

"prioritises maintaining national security and public order alongside respecting freedom of expression and academic freedom".

That statement sets out the government's stated priorities. For universities and distributors, the binding measure is the police order, with its penalties and authority to remove printed copies from circulation.

Pavin expects the ban to draw readers online

Pavin responded to the restriction by thanking police for drawing attention to the handbook. He argued that an import ban on printed copies would encourage readers to seek electronic versions and give the publication publicity it would otherwise struggle to attract.

The Kyoto University professor made that argument in a Facebook post:

In the era of social media and the internet, a ban like this doesn't work. People might just skip the hard copy and get an ebook.

His response highlights a practical tension between controlling physical distribution and reaching readers through international publishing channels. Printed books pass through importers, shops and institutional purchasing systems. Electronic editions can reach an audience through different channels, which is why Pavin expects some readers to change formats.

Pavin also suggested that the controversy would benefit both him and the publisher financially. His prediction of increased attention and purchases is his assessment of the ban's likely effect; no sales figures were announced alongside it.

A second prohibition involving the same editor

Thailand previously banned Rama X: The Thai Monarchy under King Vajiralongkorn, another publication edited by Pavin and issued by Yale University's Southeast Asia Studies programme. Authorities moved against that book in July 2023, before its release, and issued a corrected prohibition on July 21.

The police statement accompanying the earlier ban described the cover and contents as insulting to the monarchy and threatening public peace and morality. The new action again uses printing legislation against a publication examining the royal institution.

The legal rights organisation iLaw has identified at least six publications subject to police import bans under the 2007 Act, all concerning the monarchy. Two involve Pavin. The other four are:

• Thailand's Crisis and the Fight for Democracy, by Giles Ungpakorn.
• A Kingdom in Crisis, by Andrew McGregor Marshall.
• The November 2015 issue of the French edition of Marie Claire magazine.
• The article Thailand: Colossally Popular, published in The New Age of the Kings: Modern Monarchies in Malaysia and the World.

The list shows that the power has been used against several publishing formats, including books, a magazine issue and an article within a larger volume. Discussion of the monarchy is the common subject across the six identified publications.

The editor's exile and separate legal cases

Pavin worked for Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 16 years before entering academia. After the military coup in 2014, he refused a summons from the ruling junta. His passport was revoked and an arrest warrant issued, and he has since lived in exile in Kyoto.

His political activity also extends to Royalist Marketplace, known in Thai as Talad Luang, a Facebook group discussing the monarchy and proposals for democratic reform. The group grew to more than 2 million members. Pavin said he was charged in 2020 in connection with establishing it.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said in August 2026 that Pavin was among three people facing Section 112 charges linked to posts in the group during the previous month. Those proceedings concern social media activity, while the latest police action restricts importation of the handbook.

The sequence places the book ban within a longer conflict between the authorities and an academic who has continued discussing royal politics from abroad. His overseas position allows him to publish internationally, while the import order limits how the printed work can circulate inside Thailand.

How the restrictions developed

The handbook's publication history intersects with Thailand's recent political upheaval and earlier attempts to change censorship powers. The main developments are:

• 2007: Thailand adopted the Printing Registration Act, including police powers to prohibit certain foreign publications.
• 2011: The Culture Ministry proposed broader powers to prohibit printing, distribution and importation immediately, without prior publication in the Royal Gazette. The Council of State warned that the proposal might conflict with the Constitution and returned it for reconsideration.
• 2014: A military coup was followed by the summons Pavin refused and his continued exile.
• 2019: The handbook's first edition was published without a ban.
• 2020: Young protesters demanded changes to the monarchy and military, developments later addressed in the revised handbook.
• July 2023: Authorities prohibited Pavin's Rama X volume.
• August 2026: The handbook's second edition appeared in English.
• October 30, 2026: The national police chief signed the latest prohibition, made public in early November.

The 2011 proposal shows that the reach of publication controls has itself faced constitutional scrutiny. The current handbook restriction uses the existing power over foreign publications, bringing the dispute directly to importers, distributors and the institutions seeking to acquire the book.

Key Points

• Thailand has banned ordering or importing the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand for distribution.
• Violations carry up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both. Police may confiscate and destroy copies.
• The handbook contains 37 chapters by 45 scholars and covers the monarchy, military, protest movements and other political and social issues.
• The 2019 first edition was not banned. Pavin says the revision reflects changes following the 2020 demonstrations.
• Police cite security and public order. Pavin says the monarchy content prompted the ban and expects readers to seek electronic editions.
• This is the second prohibition involving a book edited by Pavin, following the 2023 action against Rama X.