Wantakan Nicolette Arcado, known by her friends as Nickii, is an M.S. candidate in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service concentrating in International Development. She is also pursuing graduate certificates in Asian Studies and Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies. Her research interests include the Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, subnational conflict, and the economics of migration. Born in Thailand and adding California as her second hometown, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Nickii has worked in the migration field for over six years, with experience in the government, non-profit, and private sector. She recently finished her internship for the United Nations' Office of the Special Adviser for Solutions on Internal Displacement, where she conducted extensive case studies on the effectiveness of national and local government policies in addressing conflict and climate-induced displacement. She currently works as a Research Intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Southeast Asia program. Her publication on illicit finance along Thailand's borders was recently published by both CSIS New Perspectives on Asia and The Diplomat. She enjoys writing and published her first book, Siamese Sovereignty: Thailand’s Strategy of Political Duality during World War II, in 2019.

"I chose MSFS because of its world-class practitioners and outstanding faculty. I also wanted to learn from and build connections with my cohort members, who I know will be the next generation of global leaders!"

 

Publications

Arcado, Wantakan. (2022, October 7). Ice and Instability: Illicit Financial Flows Along Thailand’s Borders. The Diplomat. Read it here.

Arcado, Wantakan. (2022, September 22). Ice and Instability: Illicit Financial Flows Along Thailand’s Borders. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): New Perspectives on Asia. Read it here.

Arcado, Wantakan interview with Natalegawa, Marty. (2022). ‘Indonesian Foreign Policy and Beyond,’ in Party Politics in Asia: Coalitions, Factions, and Institutions. Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs. Volume 8. Asia Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Read it here.

Arcado, Wantakan. (2019). Siamese Sovereignty: Thailand's Strategy of Political Duality During World War II. Pacific Atrocities Education, 2019. Read it here.

Arcado, Wantakan. (2018). Reclamation and Recentralization in Southeast Asia: The Case of Indonesia and the Philippines. Berkeley Student Journal of Asian Studies. Eighth Edition. Institute of East Asian Studies and the Group in Asian Studies, pp. 76-100.