Showing 1 - 5 of 5
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.
Populism triumphs as election looms
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/03/2023
» Although the campaign season for Thailand's much-anticipated election has only just begun, populism has already become the runaway winner. All of the contesting parties have come up with a plethora of populist pledges to woo voters. That populism has triumphed in Thai politics bears multiple longer-term implications.
Values agenda back in US foreign policy
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/01/2021
» No presidential transition in the United States is likely to prove more abrupt and dramatic as between former President Donald Trump and newly elected President Joe Biden. Within minutes of formally taking office, Mr Biden signed a slew of executive orders, formalised a policymaking team, and reset the course of domestic and foreign policies. In reversing Mr Trump's nationalist, unilateralist posture and relaunching internationalism and multilateralism, Mr Biden is rebalancing US interests and values. His arrival at the White House is not as much about "America is back" on the global stage but more about "values are back in American foreign policy".
US presidential poll and implications
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/11/2020
» It is surprisingly unsurprising. Contrary to most polls and pundits, incumbent United States President Donald J Trump did not lose by a landslide in the presidential election this week. The final results are so close that both candidates, Mr Trump and Democratic Party rival Joe Biden, have claimed victory. Despite ongoing rancour and acrimony until the next US president is sworn in next January, several outcomes and implications are already clear.
China's Belt & Road impact on Thailand
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 28/09/2018
» As China's ambitious Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and Maritime Silk Road (MSR) -- popularly known as the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI -- continues to make ripples and waves in international affairs, its likely impact on mainland Southeast Asia warrants attention. Unlike many of the countries on the Eurasian landmass and along waterways from the South China Sea through the Indian Ocean to eastern Africa, Thailand and its immediate neighbours are not directly on the BRI path.