Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Thailand hit by a confluence of crises
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/12/2025
» Thailand is currently facing multiple crises of unprecedented proportions in the highest corridors of power that will pose adversity for the economy and political stability next year and beyond.
The 'salim' phenomenon in Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/12/2020
» Few phenomena explain and underpin Thai politics more than the rise and decline of what is known pejoratively these days as salim, a metaphorical variation of salim, a Thai dessert comprising multi-coloured thin noodles served in coconut milk with crushed ice. Once socially attractive and politically fashionable, salim have gone out of vogue, looked down upon in a new era of anti-establishment protest for pro-democracy reforms under the new reign. What becomes of these pro-military royalist-conservative salim will have much to say about what will happen to Thailand's political future.
Thailand's inevitable political endgame
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/11/2019
» While the conviction this week of Future Forward Party (FFP) leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit seemed to be in the making ever since the Election Commission took up the charge last May, it was still astonishing when it transpired. In an all too familiar scene, the Constitutional Court ruled that a leader of yet another leading political party which has stood against military coups and the generals' role in politics is guilty of violating an election-related law, this one banning MP candidates from owning shares in a media company. As the verdict strips Mr Thanathorn of his MP status, several implications seem clear.
Eastern Economic Corridor must continue
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/12/2018
» As the election looms, the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will likely leave behind a very mixed legacy. Far from being a clean-up crew against graft and a technocratic team for effective policy performance when it seized power more than four years ago, this outgoing government has had its fair share of unaccountable corruption allegations and policy directions that merely served its own vested interests of staying in power after the polls.
What the rescue of the trapped boys means
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/07/2018
» Global news cycles over the past two weeks have been saturated by Thailand's gripping story of 12 boys from a local youth football team and their 25-year-old coach trapped in a labyrinthine and partially submerged cave complex in the Chiang Rai hills in the north of the country. Even after their successful rescue, the story continues.