• OPINION

  Thailand between the US and China

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/03/2024

  » Amid what now has to be acknowledged as a direct non-military conflict and a geoeconomic war of sorts between the United States and China, Thailand is in a quandary. While characterising Thailand's geostrategic dilemma as a US-China binary can be exaggerated and misleading, it does have a point. As with many other developing countries in the region, Thailand will come under increasing pressure to choose between the two competing superpowers. The ability not to choose thus becomes an overarching geostrategic objective.

• OPINION

  Deja vu as charter court weighs MFP ban

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/01/2024

  » It is déjà vu in Thai politics this month as Thailand's biggest elected political party and its leader face Constitutional Court verdicts that could lead to a familiar dissolution and ban. At issue is the political future of Pita Limjaroenrat and the fate of the Move Forward Party (MFP), which he led to a stunning victory at the election last May. However the verdicts come out, they might be perceived by pundits as decided by the political winds of the day.

• OPINION

  Asian elections, democracy in 2024

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/12/2023

  » Billed as the biggest election year ever as more than half of the global population goes to the polls, 2024 will be critical to the debate about democratisation and autocratisation. Asia will lead the way with elections in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia, while the most recent polls in Myanmar and Thailand offer long-term lessons about democracy and dictatorship. The salient themes next year will be about the self-perpetuating tendencies of incumbent regimes and the resilience of democratic rule when authoritarianism seemed to have the upper hand.

• OPINION

  Tolerating populism for democracy

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/10/2023

  » The so-called “super deal” in August that resulted in the return of Thaksin Shinawatra and the formation of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition government under Srettha Thavisin evidently has its limitations. It appears to be rejected by sections of the conservative old guard who still wants to resort to extra-parliamentary ways and means to undermine Thailand’s delicate parliamentary democracy. Reminiscent of past protests against Mr Thaksin’s brand of populism, a new round of extra-parliamentary political movement has begun in earnest with the petition launched by 99 prominent economists, including former central bank governors, against the Srettha government’s 10,000-baht digital wallet policy.

• OPINION

  Thai charter court deserves scrutiny

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/08/2023

  » Amid the volatility and confusion during the interim since the May 14 election, Thailand's Constitutional Court has further thickened the plot by accepting a petition to rule on whether a parliamentary vote using the meeting rules to deny the renomination of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat's premiership was unconstitutional.

• OPINION

  Thai political legitimacy in question

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 28/07/2023

  » The ongoing distortion of election results and systematic subversion of the popular will in Thai politics raise questions of political legitimacy at home and abroad. By all accounts, the combined victory of the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) and Pheu Thai appears unlikely to lead to their formation of a government. While many voters feel shortchanged by the power plays behind the scenes, what is happening to the MFP should behove the international community to draw a red line across which the eventual government outcome cannot be deemed democratically legitimate and credible in reflection of voter preferences.

• OPINION

  The post-election showdown explained

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/07/2023

  » Thai politics will finally reach its climax with a parliamentary vote for the next prime minister on July 13 and the emergence of a coalition government soon thereafter. How things pan out will depend on the extent of "what you see is what you get" or otherwise.

• OPINION

  Prayut running down clock to aid UTN

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/03/2023

  » There is something odd about Thailand's upcoming election. By all indications, it is slated to take place on May 7. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced that he will soon dissolve the Lower House to set the poll in motion. But no such dissolution has yet been announced, while the end of parliament's four-year term falls on March 23. The ambiguous election-setting scene is portentous and telling for several reasons.

• OPINION

  Election-related agencies need overhaul

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/06/2022

  » In any respectable democratic system, a winning poll candidate who secured an overall majority of electoral support would take office with the earliest effect. Not in Thailand. When Chadchart Sittipunt trounced 29 rivals by gathering 1.38 million or 51% of the votes cast in Bangkok's gubernatorial election on May 22, the capital's electorate had to hold their breath in suspense to see whether and when the Election Commission (EC) would validate his runaway victory.

• OPINION

  Thai political order being contested

  Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/08/2020

  » It has happened every time in contemporary Thai politics since the 1970s. When genuine dissent takes place against the established political order, incumbent centres of power strike back with all the means at their disposal. Each time in the past, they prevailed. This time, as political storm clouds gather again, similar campaigns and tactics are in motion to suppress dissent. Yet the final outcome may be profoundly different compared to the past.

1 2 3 Next Last