Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Reforms need broadening of the agenda
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/09/2020
» Thailand's student-led protest movement for overdue political change and reforms has reached a crucial juncture. In the aftermath of its most recent demonstration on Sept 19 at Sanam Luang public ground and open field in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok's old town, the protest agenda can be seen as either zooming in directly on monarchical reform or emanating more from the side and down below on broader institutional changes that include the monarchy.
Charter draft has checks, lacks balances
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/03/2015
» When political reforms themselves are reformed time and again, they can revert back to their pre-reform beginnings. This phenomenon appears to be afflicting Thailand's ongoing constitutional-drafting process, which is stuck in a circuitous time warp.
Thai authoritarianism: past and present
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/08/2014
» Thailand’s political pendulum has swung wildly. It has now completed a dramatic reversal, pitting the electoral authoritarianism of Thaksin Shinawatra from the early 2000s against the thinly veiled dictatorship of General Prayuth Chan-ocha in the mid-2010s.
Learning from a long history of coups
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/06/2014
» As Thailand’s latest coup bears striking similarities and differences to its dozen precursors, it behooves the National Council for Peace and Order to learn from the past. The military’s seizure of power on May 22 is now accompanied by daunting challenges and pitfalls that are consequential for all who want to see Thailand regain its democratic traction and way forward.
There’s no cure-all for political quagmire
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/05/2014
» As its political environment remains murky in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s ouster of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand now stands at a dire crossroads with deepening rifts and growing risks of turmoil and mayhem.
Charter ruling shows political progress
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/11/2013
» The Constitution Court's ruling this week to reject parliament's draft charter amendment to change the Senate from a roughly half-appointed to a fully elected chamber marks another crucial juncture in Thailand's grinding political transformation.
Policy momentum flounders after amnesty debacle
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/11/2013
» Even before its peddlers in parliament made a panicky retreat, the expansive amnesty bill to absolve all those involved in Thailand's political conflict going back to 2004 already yielded longer-term ramifications.
The politics behind Thailand's amnesty controversy
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/11/2013
» Thaksin Shinawatra has achieved a feat undoable by other Thais. By trying to absolve himself of a criminal conviction and other alleged crimes and infractions, Thaksin has united his rank-and-file supporters and opponents.