Showing 81 - 90 of 108
Between authoritarianism and democracy
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/01/2016
» So far in the 21st century, political fortunes in Southeast Asian states have been mixed. As the world's only region that harbours all political regimes from absolutism in Brunei and authoritarianism in Thailand to thriving democracy in Indonesia and communist one-party rule in Vietnam, Southeast Asia's political future will likely be sandwiched between a rule by the few and government by the majority. The determinant of future regime pathways in this region may well be the performance of China on one hand and India and Japan on the other, the largest and most consequent major powers in the neighbourhood.
Thai-US treaty alliance needs realigning
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/01/2016
» That the United States' role in Asia's fluid and dynamic geopolitical canvas is considered indispensable is not a matter of dispute. Governments and states in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia have all been in favour of a continued American engagement that dates back more than a century, and which intensified after World War II and throughout the Cold War. Even China, the pre-eminent giant with superpower status, has not opposed US engagement in Asia, thanks in part to unprecedented mutual economic interdependence between Washington and Beijing.
Thai luck runs out with attack on shrine
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/09/2015
» For a country that has done so well for so long in navigating the treacherous waters of international life, Thailand's luck may have run out with the bomb attack on the Erawan shrine in central Bangkok on Aug 17.
Asia-Pacific consequences of global disorder
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/08/2015
» As the rules and institutions that were crafted after the Second World War increasingly unravel, tensions and fissures in the global system will become more salient.
Real integration action in mainland SE Asia
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/05/2015
» Those caught up in the hype over the Asean Community (AC) and its three pillars of political-security (APSC), economic (AEC) and socio-cultural (ASCC) by end 2015 are fixated on the wrong places. Integration from connectivity, where borders are proving increasingly irrelevant, is happening less on paper and more on the ground in mainland of Southeast Asia. Beyond the agreements and scorecards of the AC, mainland Southeast Asia is where real integration will take place.
AC limps to year-end deadline and beyond
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/05/2015
» The aftermath of the 26th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur last week indicates that the 10-member regional grouping is increasingly challenged in its efforts to cohere into an Asean Community (AC) by the end of this year.
A south-south opportunity emerges in global power shift
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 01/05/2015
» A tectonic power shift in the global arena is an emerging phenomenon that is no longer in doubt. Why, and to what end, this profound power shift in the international system is taking place at this time, however, remains a matter of dispute.
The myth of Thailand's demographic doom
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 20/03/2015
» It is easy and tempting these days to be discouraged with Thailand. The place reeks of bad news, and is full of tension and challenges in its society, economy and politics. Yet the Thai story remains counterintuitive and compelling. With daunting dilemmas in all directions, Thailand should not have space for complacency. But it also should not be a place without hope.
Location will save Thailand from itself
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/12/2014
» As Thailand's prolonged navel-gazing meanders from crisis to crisis, one of the leading questions facing this country is whether it will eventually emerge intact and be able to overcome its proven propensity to shoot itself in the foot.
Thai military's cradle of political power
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/10/2014
» From a promising period of de-politicisation in the late 1990s to a manipulative re-politicisation in the early 2000s, Thailand's military has come full circle.