Showing 201 - 210 of 233
Thai coup elicits mixed global reaction
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 01/08/2014
» As Thailand’s armed forces fan out across its body politic and economy, the country’s international standing is increasingly challenged.
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.
Coup reorients relations with Cambodia
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 11/07/2014
» Thailand’s military coup has reoriented Thai-Cambodian relations with surprising effects. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s overt enmity and confrontation towards Thailand over the past several years have become conciliatory and accommodating for the time being. Whether this new pattern of bilateral ties is solidified depends on how post-coup Thailand plays out.
Domestic politics puts checks on Asean
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/06/2014
» As it approaches its 47th birthday, heading into the final stretch of its highly touted integrated community, Asean appears increasingly challenged both within the 10-member organisation and the region.
Learning from a long history of coups
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/06/2014
» As Thailand’s latest coup bears striking similarities and differences to its dozen precursors, it behooves the National Council for Peace and Order to learn from the past. The military’s seizure of power on May 22 is now accompanied by daunting challenges and pitfalls that are consequential for all who want to see Thailand regain its democratic traction and way forward.
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.
Electoral democracy can still succeed
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/02/2014
» That the election last Sunday was inconclusive and incomplete was a foregone conclusion. However, its controversial results revealed much more than many anticipated. Despite the uncertainty of the poll results, only 89.2% of which are complete, electoral democracy still works in Thailand. Eventually, it must be allowed to work within the rules of Thailand's democratic system for outcomes to be valid and sustainable.
Protesters must unite for democracy
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/01/2014
» So deep and visceral is Thailand's polarisation that it is no longer enough to go around in Bangkok with a neon sign saying "Thaksin is a crook". To the protesters led by Suthep Thaugsuban under the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), it is necessary to condone and partake in their efforts to uproot the corrupt "Thaksin regime" by blocking parts of central Bangkok and opposing the election this Sunday. But this should not be the case. It is imperative for the "anti-Thaksinites" everywhere to come out against the divisive and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and to be in favour of electoral democracy at the same time.