Showing 81 - 90 of 107
Seeing politics via the Chuvit phenomenon
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/10/2015
» As Thailand's popular rule is in deep freeze under an undisguised military dictatorship, few dare to speak out for fear of intimidation and temporary detention. One exception for all Thailand watchers to follow is Chuvit Kamolvisit. What he has been saying speaks volumes about the current state of Thai politics.
A well-intentioned but problematic charter
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/04/2015
» Thailand's draft constitution of 2015 appears to be full of good intentions that may end up in futility.
Charter draft has checks, lacks balances
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/03/2015
» When political reforms themselves are reformed time and again, they can revert back to their pre-reform beginnings. This phenomenon appears to be afflicting Thailand's ongoing constitutional-drafting process, which is stuck in a circuitous time warp.
A 'third-way' compromise is imperative
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/01/2015
» As Thailand is gripped yet again by a political climax surrounding former prime minister Yingluck Shinwatra's impeachment trial for dereliction of duty over her ousted government's rice-pledging scheme, it is instructive to take a long view beyond the drama of the day.
A saga and sideshow with much at stake
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/01/2015
» The impeachment case against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra this month for dereliction of duty while in office over the rice-pledging budgetary losses is both a saga and a sideshow.
Thai authoritarianism: past and present
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/08/2014
» Thailand’s political pendulum has swung wildly. It has now completed a dramatic reversal, pitting the electoral authoritarianism of Thaksin Shinawatra from the early 2000s against the thinly veiled dictatorship of General Prayuth Chan-ocha in the mid-2010s.
Jokowi’s win saves democratisation
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/07/2014
» Many years from now when we look back at the fate of democracy and regionalism in Southeast Asia, the election victory of Indonesia’s President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is likely to be seen as pivotal.
There’s no cure-all for political quagmire
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/05/2014
» As its political environment remains murky in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s ouster of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand now stands at a dire crossroads with deepening rifts and growing risks of turmoil and mayhem.
Going to polls remains the only solution
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/05/2014
» At issue in the immediate aftermath of the Constitutional Court’s ouster of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is whether her successor will be allowed to steer the caretaker government without debilitating street protests and whether the landmark verdict will be sufficient for Thailand to return to the electoral system as a way out of its political quagmire. Thailand is still in the thick of the woods as prospects on both counts remain murky. The only way out and the ultimate way forward in this flawed electoral democracy is still to stick to the popular mandate as the least problematic of all options. An unelected outcome is likely to bring more tumult and turmoil.
Thailand’s potential grand realignment
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2014
» As caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra comes under mounting pressure from the gathering forces arrayed against her self-exiled and convicted brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, something will soon have to give. Thailand’s prolonged political standoff has crippled Bangkok’s central business district and placed Thailand in an economic free fall. At issue going forward is how much longer Ms Yingluck will last, how she is dislodged, what comes after, and whether a grand realignment takes place to marginalise Thaksin and move Thailand beyond him.