Showing 1 - 6 of 6
A backdrop to Trump's stunning win
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/11/2024
» Analysts often face the tough task of assessing an outcome the way it is rather than how they would like it to be. Nowhere is this challenge more daunting than analysing the stunning election results in the United States this week. Against the odds, former President Donald J Trump of the Republican Party has resoundingly won a second term over Vice President Kamala D Harris of the Democratic Party both in the popular vote and the Electoral College. The Republican Party also captured the Senate and the House of Representatives. While the implications for Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia are wide-ranging and far-reaching, it is first and foremost necessary to understand the nature of the Trump victory.
Geoeconomic implications of Covid-19
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/06/2020
» The longer the coronavirus pandemic wends its way around the world, the more it takes on permanent features. As case infections still persist virulently, especially in the US, Brazil, Russia and India, states, societies and individuals are being forced to make adjustments. There will be winners and losers in the geoeconomic competition for market shares and supply chains. Those with more effective public health systems will stand in good stead with opportunities to re-emerge less scathed and better positioned to carry on, whereas others with less adequate health infrastructure will face more risks and disadvantages. For the first time in generations, health security has become the main determinant in the fate of nations and peoples.
Virus risks versus economic imperatives
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/05/2020
» The coronavirus pandemic requires responding governments to be agile and quick on their feet, learning by doing and constantly reevaluating their policy mix. What was needed a month or two ago may need to be recalibrated this week for the immediate future in a moving balance of risks and objectives. For Thailand, the balance between public health safety and economic reality has been lost. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) risks becoming a victim of its own success. This means the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should now be listening to economists and social workers a little more than epidemiologists and medical doctors as Thailand's virus-fighting priorities shift with twists and turns.
Coronavirus blues and clues in Thailand
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/04/2020
» It is unanimous that the novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A common refrain everywhere in the world is "I have never seen anything like it". Its immediate consequences and longer-term transformational repercussions will be felt for years to come. Covid-19 challenges individuals, societies and state institutions to their very core. For Thailand, re-emerging from this devastating pandemic will be tough and tricky, with trade-offs and hard choices.
Moral dilemmas of handling the virus
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/04/2020
» It is hard to calibrate a commensurate response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Owing to the lack of accurate and reliable information, a media feeding frenzy and the mass psychology of fear, the choice has become all or nothing, not much in between. Individuals, societies and states worldwide are now incentivised to overdo it and err on the side of caution, being safe rather than sorry. This means that the likelihood of "overshooting" with Covid responses is likely to heighten in the foreseeable future in view of morally unacceptable alternatives.
Asean must unite to resolve Covid-19
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/03/2020
» As the Covid-19 pandemic runs its course and wreaks havoc worldwide, the numbers look bleak. Nearly 500,000 people have been infected, and more than 21,000 had died as of Thursday. The international system has reverted to every country for itself, as borders have gone up and globalisation has come down. The world as we knew it is unlikely to be the same, but regions as they were remain relevant. Here, Asean, as Southeast Asia's regional bloc, must face up to the crisis together or risk being torn apart by it.