Showing 1 - 4 of 4
The essence of Thailand in one phrase
Oped, Published on 05/06/2025
» The glossy brochures tell you it's "The Land of Smiles" or maybe it's just "amazing". Slightly more sophisticated takes suggest the essence of Thailand can be found in its unique expressions of showing consideration to others in the context of a hierarchy.
The evolving Thai political fault lines
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/07/2019
» Over the past five years under military government, it is clear that Thailand's political polarisation has not been bridged. It has, in fact, expanded into new fault lines. Apart from the longstanding yellows versus reds revolving around supporters and critics of the established political order premised on military, monarchy and bureaucracy, we now have a clear demarcation between pro- and anti-junta and authoritarianism versus democratisation camps. Newer fault lines are generational and ideological in orientation. While some of these divisions are global in nature, bringing them in line towards a new consensus in Thailand will necessitate a kind of leadership and compromise without which the country will be unsettled for the long term.
Regime builds one-way road to disunity
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 29/08/2017
» Whether what we are witnessing falls along the lines of Great Expectations, The Great Escape or The Great Dictator is probably still up for interpretation.
'Withdrawal' lessons from Prof Anderson
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/12/2015
» Paragraph per paragraph, no single article analyses Thai politics with as much incision, depth and rigour as that of Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson, the long-time, legendary Cornell University intellectual who taught several generations of students specialising in Southeast Asian studies and inspired many more.