Key facts
- Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the book's exiled editor, said the ban was imposed over its content on the Thai monarchy.
- Thailand's royal family is shielded from criticism by a strict defamation law that critics say is used to muzzle dissent.
- The banned volume is the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand, published in English in August.
Thailand has banned a textbook about the country on national security grounds, with the volume's exiled editor saying on November 5, 2026 that it was outlawed over its content on the Thai monarchy.
The book is a second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand, published in English in August and edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a prominent exiled critic of the Thai authorities.
The royal family holds revered status in Thai society and is shielded from criticism by a strict defamation law that critics say is used to muzzle dissent. The report did not name the authority that imposed the ban or state its terms.