I have research interests on a number of topics, bridging three fields of study: comparative politics, political economy of development, and Southeast Asian studies. I draw on empirical observations and puzzles in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and Indonesia, to speak to theories found in both the political science and development studies literature. These include issues of institutional capacity of developing countries, common pool resource management, bureaucratic reforms, rural transformations, as well as national identity politics.
Here I’ve grouped my publications and short commentaries by broad topic with links provided to the publisher’s websites. You can find a chronological list of my publications on my CV and pre-publication versions are available on my academia.edu page.
Nationalism and Ethnicity
2022. “Politically Speaking: Ethnic Language and Audience Opinion in Southeast Asia.” Journal of East Asian Studies 22, no. 3 (November), 457-479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2022.20 (Open Access).
2022. (with Amy H. Liu) Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108933179.
2020. “The Effect of Language on Voter Opinion: Results from a Survey Experiment in Thailand.” Political Behavior 42, no. 1 (March), 83-104. DOI:10.1007/s11109-018-9487-z. Replication data available on Dataverse.
2020. “Integration despite Inclusion: Thai National Identity among Isan People.” Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, no. 27 (March). [link]
2019. “Proud to be Thai: The Puzzling Absence of Ethnicity-Based Political Cleavages in Northeastern Thailand.” Pacific Affairs 92, no. 2 (June), 257-285. DOI: 10.5509/2019922257.
2019. “Thai National Pride in a Comparative Perspective.” Thai Data Points Blog (www.thaidatapoints.com), November 27. [link]
2012. (with Amy H. Liu) “Coalitions and Language Politics: Policy Shifts in Southeast Asia.” World Politics 64, no. 3 (July), 476-506. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S004388711200010X
2008. “National Identity and the Geo-Soul: Spiritually Mapping Siam.” Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 8, no. 1 (April), 120-141. DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2008.00006.x
Institutional Reforms and State Capacity in Developing Countries
2022. “The Politics of Institutional Reform: Vulnerability and Bureaucratic Independence in Asian Agriculture.” Asian Politics & Policy 14, no. 3 (July), 351-373. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12653.
2021. (with Richard F. Doner). “Getting Institutions Right: Matching Institutional Capacities to Developmental Tasks.” World Development 139(March). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105334
2019. “Thailand’s 2019 Vote: The General’s Election.” Pacific Affairs 92, no. 3 (September), 443-457. DOI: 10.5509/2019923443.
2018. “Agents, Principals, or Something in Between? Bureaucrats and Policy Control in Thailand.” Journal of East Asian Studies 18, no. 3 (November), 321-344. DOI: 10.1017/jea.2018.17 ***A read-only free version of the article is available here. ***
2017. “Sector-Specific Development and Policy Vulnerability in the Philippines.” Development and Change, 48, no. 3 (May), 567-589.
2016. (with Punchada Sirivunnabood) “Professionals and Soldiers: Measuring Professionalism in the Thai Military.” Pacific Affairs 89, no. 1 (March), 7-30. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5509/20168917 *** Shortlisted for 2017 William L. Holland Prize for most outstanding article in Pacific Affairs ***
2016. “The Thai Military, Coups, and the False Hope of Professionalism,” Asia Pacific Memo, No. 362. [link]
2015. “Guest Post: Norms and Military Interventions,” Thai Data Points Blog (www.thaidatapoints.com), February 20. [link]
2015. “Growing into Inertia,” Catalyst Asia, July 7. [link]
Politics of Agriculture and Irrigation
2021. (with Thanapan Laiprakobsup) “Becoming Citizens: Policy Feedback and the Transformation of the Thai Rice Farmer.” Journal of Rural Studies 81: 139-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.003 [here is a link to pre-publication version]
2018. “Politics and the Price of Rice in Thailand: Public Choice, Institutional Change, and Rural Subsidies.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 48, no. 3 (June), 395-418. DOI:10.1080/00472336.2017.1419275
2017. “Street-Level Bureaucrats and Irrigation Policy Reform in Southeast Asia.” Asian Politics & Policy 9, no. 2 (April), 310-319. DOI: 10.1111/aspp.12319
2017. “Thailand’s Delayed Structural Transformation.” Thai Data Points Blog (www.thaidatapoints.com), February 15. [link]
2016. “Building Participatory Organizations for Common Pool Resource Management: Water User Group Promotion in Indonesia.” World Development 77 (January), 34-47. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.08.014
2015. “Pockets of Participation: Bureaucratic Incentives and Participatory Irrigation Management in Thailand.” Water Alternatives 8, no. 2 (June), 193-214. [link]
2012. (with Sigit S. Arif) “Field Report: Local Successes in Encouraging Participatory Irrigation Management: Policy Lessons from Indonesia.” Journal of International Development 24, no. 7 (October), 946-949. DOI: 10.1002/jid.2859
Political Science Methods
2018. (with Amy H. Liu) “Process Tracing Research Designs: A Practical Guide.” PS: Political Science & Politics 51, no. 4 (October), 842-846. DOI: 10.1017/S1049096518000975
Jacob I. Ricks 