Dr Matthew Phillips BA, MA, PhD (University of London) gained his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at The School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He is a specialist in the history of Thailand and in particular the cultural impact of American-Thai relations during the Cold War.
He also has a special interest in how changes in diplomatic arrangements have impacted local identities across Asia in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Using a range of sources, he seeks to deepen understanding of the role that media, advertising and propaganda, both national and international, play in articulating and exploiting local identities. Other research themes include, consumerism, modernity and nationalism.