Department of Politics and International Studies
Graduate Teaching Assistant
- Name:
- Shenghua Zhang
- Email address:
- sz26@soas.ac.uk
- Academic Support Hours:
- Wednesdays 2 -3pm
- Thesis title:
- Populism, Representational Crisis, and Party Organisational Development in Thailand: The Persistence of Pro-Thaksin Parties since 2001
- Year of Study:
- 4
Internal Supervisors
Biography
Shenghua Zhang is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS, University of London. He has been studying at SOAS since 2015, and has completed an MRes degree in Politics with Cambodian and Thai before starting his PhD. He is interested in Southeast Asian politics, with a particular focus on Thai party politics and populism. He is a recipient of the China Scholarship Council (CSC) fellowship.
PhD Research
Shenghua’s doctoral research investigates the meaning of populism in the contemporary Thai context, seeking to explain the persistence of the political force affiliated to one of the most influential figures in Thailand – Thaksin Shinawatra. Moreover, this research attempts to shift from the existing literature’s leader-centred focus, towards a more balanced approach which also examines the role of political parties in Thai politics. Shenghua conducted fieldwork in Thailand between October 2018 and June 2019 as a visiting researcher at Chulalongkorn University, during which he also observed the 2019 Thai general elections.
Affiliations
- Chulalongkorn University
- Association of Southeast Asian Studies (ASEAS UK)
- Association for Asian Studies