The Malay-Muslim Insurgency in Southern Thailand--Understanding the Conflict's Evolving Dynamic: RAND Counterinsurgency Study--Paper 5 (Occasional Paper)

Current unrest in the MalayMuslim provinces of southern Thailand has captured growing national, regional, and international attention due to the heightened tempo and scale of rebel attacks, the increasingly jihadist undertone that has come to characterize insurgent actions, and the central government1s often brutal handling of the situation on the ground. This paper assesses the current situation and its probable direction.