Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat commenced her PhD at the Australian National University’s Department of Political and Social Change in February 2015.

She holds a BA in Journalism from Bangkok’s Thammasat University and obtained her Master’s Degrees in Southeast Asian Studies from National University of Singapore and in Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies from King’s College London (distinction).

She has developed her interest in, and expertise on, violent conflicts in Thailand’s predominantly Malay-Muslim South during her career as a journalist with the Nation and Associated Press and later as a political analyst with International Crisis Group.

Rungrawee was the primary author of seven Crisis Group reports from 2008 to 2011, four of which were on Thailand’s southern conflict and three on national politics. She has since been working as a consultant for UNDP and other international NGOs on Southern Thailand.

Her research interests include Thai politics, peace processes, civil society and conflict resolution and Islam in Southeast Asia. Her PhD research is on the roles of religion in armed conflict in southern Thailand.