Showing 1 - 10 of 16
Trump's 'America First' in overdrive
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/01/2026
» President Donald Trump's extraterritorial capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on cocaine-trafficking and terrorism-related charges earlier this month and repeated demand to take over Greenland at the World Economic Forum this week are part and parcel of a belligerent and transformative "America First" paradigm that dates back at least four decades.
Flawed Asean needs to regain footing
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 10/10/2025
» Nearly six decades after its founding, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) finds itself back where it began -- divided, uncertain, and vulnerable to the influence of major powers. Once hailed as a model for regional cooperation in the developing world, Asean now faces a crisis of purpose. Unless it can rediscover the unity and collective way forward that defined its early decades, Southeast Asia's flagship institution risks slipping into irrelevance.
Two issues at stake in US president race
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 01/11/2024
» As the quadrennial presidential contest in the United States reaches its conclusion next week, the two fundamental and entwined issues at stake are how America sees itself at home and how its consequent role abroad ought to be. This is not the first time these soul-searching questions are determining who gets to rule the country, but they are a recent phenomenon. Beyond them, the rest are merely theatre, money, and manoeuvres that underpin any major election spectacle.
Thailand's Brics move is misguided
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/06/2024
» There are two main explanations behind Thailand's application to join the Brics group, initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Cambodia and Laos in the regional mix
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/09/2022
» As geopolitical tensions from Russian aggression in Ukraine and the ongoing United States-China rivalry intensify, Southeast Asia will be hard-pressed to maintain peace and security. Despite their relatively small size, Cambodia and Laos are two countries whose political trajectories will shape regional outcomes. While Cambodia has consolidated domestic political power with dynamic economic expansion, Laos is looking like a regional laggard facing a deep debt crisis. As Cambodia moves forward, Laos is at risk of being left behind.
The politics of the term-limit wrangle
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/08/2022
» Time is not on the side of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as various groups of people want to see the back of him. Now that he has survived the last of four no-confidence votes in parliament since the March 2019 election, many are pinning their hopes that the eight-year prime ministerial term limit will upend Gen Prayut's rule.
Prayut govt stuck in self-made trap
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/07/2021
» Thailand's multi-layered crises from persistent virus infections and vaccine shortages to economic damage are building up into a potential political upheaval. The ravaging Covid-19 crisis is worse than the infamous Tom Yum Kung economic crisis in 1997-98. This time, the military-predominant government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is stuck in multiple traps of its own making. Getting out of this predicament means the pandemic situation is likely to get a lot worse before any hope of recovery and way forward can be found.
Asean's declining common denominator
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/03/2021
» Asean is stuck deeper than ever between a rock and a hard place in view of its political impotence in dealing with the Myanmar armed forces' power grab on Feb 1. In an informal meeting online among its foreign ministers earlier this week, Asean not only failed to come up with common ground to broker a way forward away from the mounting bloodshed in Myanmar but displayed fundamental differences that have lowered the organisation's common denominator to new depths. The implications from Asean's sagging stance is that the pushback against Myanmar's military takeover must be carried out mainly by domestic political forces in the absence of regional effectiveness and with the limitations of global sanctions.
History not on the side of Gen Prayut
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/10/2020
» In the face of sustained and broad-based student-led street protests demanding his resignation, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha remains defiant and determined to soldier on. He has even admonished his critics and detractors by flatly rejecting resignation and asking "What have I done wrong?" Such a provocative and self-righteous question deserves a frontal answer.
Central bank autonomy must be upheld
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/08/2019
» When elected governments make noises about economic growth in countries where macroeconomic management is sound and prudent, central bankers tend to quietly bristle and brush off such interference and infringement of monetary space at their own risk. In so doing, central bankers tend to enjoy the support of domestic and international market participants who value central bank independence more than politicians' vested interests, even if it sometimes undercuts their bottom lines. Accordingly, when central bankers go along with the preferences of elected politicians, the conduct of monetary policy comes into question.