Showing 1 - 10 of 82
Implications of conservative triumph
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/02/2026
» The incumbent and conservative Bhumjaithai (BJT) Party has surprisingly swept Thailand's Feb 8 election with a commanding win. With the previously poll-leading and progressive People's Party (PP) coming in a distant second, Thailand appears headed for a conservative coalition government revolving around BJT and like-minded junior partners. Known for its conservative stance and being pro-status quo, it would not be surprising if the BJT-led coalition government, led by Prime Minister-elect Anutin Charnvirakul, were not challenged by the Constitutional Court, the Election Commission, and other supervisory agencies, which have derailed and dissolved reform-minded winning parties in the past.
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.
Thailand's political trajectory in 2026
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/01/2026
» What happens in Thai politics this year and the immediate horizon will be determined by the upcoming election on Feb 8. While contesting political parties are in full campaign mode, the contemporary history of Thai polls so far in the 21st century is not encouraging. Only once in the past 25 years have voting results went the way they were meant to, in accordance with the popular will. Whether the vote in four weeks will follow the same pattern will depend on whether the conservative establishment gets its preferred outcome.
Thaksin chapter closes, another opens
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/09/2025
» In yet another dramatic twist in Thai politics, erstwhile anti-establishment political juggernaut and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra accepted a one-year jail sentence and began serving his time behind bars on Sept 9. After his return from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August 2023 and a concomitant royal pardon that reduced his eight-year imprisonment on corruption convictions to just one year, Thaksin cited his gravely ill health and spent the time comfortably at the Police General Hospital before being released on parole. The Supreme Court's ruling that his get-out-of-jail health card was invalid means Thaksin's renewed imprisonment and its aftermath are likely to reshape and realign Thailand's political landscape ahead of the next election, due by mid-2027.
Thailand's costly political shenanigans
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/08/2025
» In a country of 70 million where a handful of men can remove an elected government time and again, there can be no stability and progress, only tension and regression. This is how Thailand can be characterised over the past two decades. It is now going through yet another cycle of heightened political instability with the potential collapse of the government under suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in the footsteps of previous leaders who were similarly ousted by the Constitutional Court.
Signs and symptoms of Thai stagnation
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/07/2025
» That Thailand is faring poorly in the world is no longer in dispute. Not so long ago, many were in denial and adamant that Thailand could still bring a good game to engage abroad, that "Teflon" Thailand could bounce back. Now, just about all indicators are pointing south. The causes of this country's decline and stagnation are not singular but multifaceted over a two-decade period. As Thailand's situation is likely to worsen before hopes for a better future can arise, it is instructive to start counting the costs.
Thailand needs a geostrategic rebalance
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/06/2025
» With two military coups and multiple judicial interventions that combined to subvert election results and weaken democratic institutions over the past two decades, it is unsurprising that Thailand's geostrategic position has leaned increasingly towards China. Naturally, the more Thailand becomes autocratic, the more it will be estranged from established democracies in Europe and North America, as well as Japan and South Korea, with nowhere to turn but to Beijing. But this China orientation is a geostrategic mistake at this time. Thailand should correct its course until clearer signs emerge as to which side of the superpower struggle will come out on top.
Thailand's false sense of tariff security
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/05/2025
» Thailand is in deeper trouble among its peer group in view of United States President Donald Trump's tariff offensive. Yet senior Thai officials appear nonchalant, complacent and smug. They seem to think Thailand will come out of the US tariff war in good shape as the Trump administration will prove unable to go through with its hefty import duties. The domestic political battle between the US executive and judicial branch -- with the Court of International Trade's injunction this week on most of the Trump tariffs -- further adds to the absurd sense of security and false perception of Thailand's importance by Thai officials.
Authentic intelligence rises with AI
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/05/2025
» As the cognitive power and proliferation of artificial intelligence take the world by storm, the case for authenticity and originality paradoxically becomes more compelling and carries higher premiums. It is now a widely accepted reality that AI is on its way to master human thought processes and proceed beyond them. This means that it will be more difficult for humans to differentiate between what comes from AI and what does not. As such, the time has come after nearly 40 years of being published -- including more than 25 of them with this newspaper -- that this column goes subjective.
Smart geopolitics starts on home front
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2025
» According to a longstanding axiom, all politics is local. If so, then smart and crafty geopolitics must start at home with sufficient domestic political stability and consensus about how the country should navigate what is increasingly a turbulent geostrategic chessboard. Put this way, few countries can appreciate the intersection of geopolitics and domestic politics more than Thailand. Its rocky and volatile home front over the past two decades continues to impede and constrain its geostrategic projection.