Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : women's political representation from an international perspective / Kazuki Iwanaga -- Women in politics and women and politics : a socio-cultural analysis of the Thai context / Juree Vichit-Vadakan -- NGO advocacy for women in politics in Thailand / Suteera Vichitranonda and Maytinee Bhongsvej -- Prohibited spaces : barriers and strategies in women's NGO work in Isaan, north-eastern Thailand / Cambria G. Hamburg -- A glimpse of women leaders in Thai local politics / Juree Vichit-Vadakan -- Women as parliamentarians / Kazuki Iwanaga -- Women's equal rights and participation in the Thai bureaucracy / Supin Kachacupt -- Political participation of Thai middle-class women / Tongchai Wongchaisuwan and Amporn W. Tamronglak -- My story as a woman in Thai politics / Supatra Masdit.

This edited volume, including contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field, addresses the challenges, obstacles and opportunities for increased women's political representation in Thailand. Will Thai politics be different with an increase in the number of women politicians? What are the possibilities for Thai women to take proactive initiatives that aim to transform Thai politics into being more gender aware and equal? In seeking to address these and related issues, the analysis brings together a complex interplay of factors, such as traditional Thai views of gender and politics; the national and local political context of the new Thai constitution of 1997; and recent experiences of selected women politicians in the legislative and executive branches of Thai government.