Showing 51 - 60 of 68
'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.
Western folly in Middle East quagmire
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/11/2015
» Democracy is not for every region. Nowhere is this more evident than in the modern Middle East. As individual regimes and the entire region disintegrate and revert back to their familiar past of tribal wars and internecine strife that are answerable only to force and strength, not international rules and norms, it is instructive to look back at the origins of the current phase of violence and mayhem.
Myanmar reflects Asean domestic dilemmas
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/11/2015
» Myanmar's momentous elections on Sunday have a familiar ring to them. Now, just like 25 years ago, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), spearheaded by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is poised to thump the military-led Union Solidarity and Development Part (USDP) by a resounding margin.
Semantics and Thailand's political divide
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/09/2015
» Language can be about power as much as communication. It can tear societies apart or bring them together, depending on its design and application.
Shrine saga throws up bluster, but few facts
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 28/08/2015
» The fog of Thai crisis management can be thick and heavy. Almost a fortnight after a powerful bomb explosion rocked the landmark Erawan shrine area in central Bangkok and claimed 20 lives with scores of injuries, Thai authorities have made just about zero progress.
TIP shows a Thai-US alliance under strain
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/07/2015
» That Thailand has remained on the United States' Tier 3 in Trafficking in Persons list is unsurprising. Even the government of Gen Prayut Chan-ocha has accepted the Tier 3 designation with resignation in the hope of an upgrade in future. What is more interesting is the trend in Thai-US relations over the past decade.
Language is way forward in deep South
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/07/2015
» In multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies, language is about more than communication. It is about recognition and accommodation, power and power-sharing. When society fosters power-sharing and forges compromise and consensus to underpin societal cohesion and achieve relative peace at home, the role of official and national languages can be powerful and paramount.
Mitigating intractable 'boat people' crisis
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/05/2015
» Beyond a few obvious facts, working out what to do with the many thousands of "boat people" who have been stuck in the vast sea straddling South and Southeast Asia in pursuit of jobs and better livelihoods is difficult to come by.
Deft diplomacy needed for coup period
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/02/2015
» The recent brouhaha over controversial comments by visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel has further complicated the bilateral treaty alliance between Bangkok and Washington.
Thai military's cradle of political power
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/10/2014
» From a promising period of de-politicisation in the late 1990s to a manipulative re-politicisation in the early 2000s, Thailand's military has come full circle.