ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies has experts available to talk about the recent coup in Thailand. They will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. Friday and are available for media interviews.

Members of the public or the media may attend the briefing at Room 1636 in the School of Social Work Building/International Institute on the central U-M campus, 1080 S. University (corner of South University and East University).

The experts, who are available for media interviews, include:

Allen Hicken, political science assistant professor and specialist on Thai electoral politics. He can speak on the political background and potential aftermath of the coup. He can be reached at (734) 615-9105 or ahicken@umich.edu. For more information on Hicken, visit

: http://polisci.lsa.umich.edu/faculty/ahicken.html

Linda Lim, professor of corporate strategy in the Ross School of Business and a specialist on Southeast Asian business. She can speak about the implications for the Thai economy. She can be reached at (734) 763-0290 or lylim@umich.edu. For more on Lim, visit:

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/public/experts/ExpDisplay.php?ExpID=474

Gavin Shatkin, assistant professor in the Taubman School of Architecture + Urban Planning, a specialist on Thai regional planning in the greater Bangkok region. He can speak on the implications for current urban infrastructure mega-projects (mass transit and the new airport) and deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s urban social programs. He can be reached at (734) 764-1300 or shatkin@umich.edu. For more on Shatkin, visit: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/shatkin/home

For more on the briefing, visit:

http://www.umich-cseas.org/eventsandnews/thai_coup.htm

More resources:

For more on southeast Asia, visit: http://www.umich-cseas.org/index.php

The U-M International Institute comprises one of the nation’s broadest assemblies of interdisciplinary centers and programs organized around area studies. It supports a range of innovative collaborations and sponsored projects in international studies that cross traditional intellectual boundaries. For more details on its programs and experts, visit: http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/index.html

For more on the briefing, visit:

http://www.umich-cseas.org/eventsandnews/thai_coup.htm

The U-M Documents Center offers access to many government documents and resources related to Thailand. Please visit: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/forasia.html#thai

Producers: U-M has professional TV studios and uplink capabilities.