Showing 1 - 10 of 21
The tyranny of anarchy and what to do
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/03/2025
» It is both exciting and alarming to be a student of international affairs as the world is being turned upside down. In just two months, the second administration of President Donald J Trump has sent shockwaves rippling through the international system as the United States pulls back from its role as leader, underwriter, and guardian of the nearly 80-year-old international order that it instrumentally constructed after WWII. In view of the US's portentous withdrawal, relative anarchy in the international system is back with a vengeance, leaving Asean members and smaller states elsewhere to fend for themselves in a self-help geostrategic environment.
Regional power rejig in new age
News, Werapong Prapha, Published on 23/01/2025
» What happens to a region when the rules of global trade no longer apply? For The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), this is no longer a hypothetical question -- it is our pressing reality. This week, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, ushering in what many see as the end of the post-liberal trade era. This era, defined by hyper-globalisation and a rules-based system governed by multilateralism, is now giving way to an unpredictable and fragmented global order.
Reform, or repeat monk scandals
Editorial, Published on 27/10/2024
» A senior monk promoting what is alleged to be a pyramid scheme disguised as an online direct sales company reveals just how far the clergy has strayed from Buddha's teachings.
Why custard doesn't cut the mustard
Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/10/2024
» Last week I came across an expression I hadn't heard for years, courtesy of the Bangkok Post's cryptic crossword. The clue was "It's sweet (but cowardly)". The answer turned out to be "custard". That took me back to pre-teen days when "cowardy, cowardy custard" (without the 'L') was a taunt heard at my primary school when someone timid was being teased.
A perfectly British public paradox
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/07/2024
» Much has been made of the "working class" background of the newly-elected government in the UK and how very few of Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet attended posh "public schools". This brings us to one of the paradoxes of British and particularly English culture. The institutions which are called "public schools" in England are anything but public and are actually elite private fee-paying institutions.
Being protectionist and world leader isn't possible
News, Andreas Kluth, Published on 31/05/2024
» President Joe Biden likes to call the United States "the indispensable nation". By that, he means that America is the only power simultaneously mighty and benevolent enough to preserve whatever is left of a liberal order -- one in which rules and multilateral institutions govern, among other things, a system of relatively free international finance and trade.
Begging for trouble
Oped, Editorial, Published on 28/11/2023
» Some unscrupulous Chinese, with the help of Thais, have been the subject of recent news reports about fake beggars on Bangkok streets. This began after Kanthat Pongpaiboonvej, alias "good Samaritan" Kan Chompalang, reported a woman in a school uniform with a deformed face begging in the Pin Klao area two weeks ago.
History comes alive in those pub names
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/06/2023
» The news has been so dull this week we might as well continue to pursue last week's investigations concerning the historical value of English pub names. If nothing else it may prompt readers to recall some of the more exotic inns where they have supped ale. It beats politics anyway.
Chuvit's crusade
Oped, Postbag, Published on 14/02/2023
» Re: "Cops red-faced as scandals rock force", & "Whistleblowers expose misconduct", (BP, Feb 13).
Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/12/2020
» In the mid-1970s, while travelling on the slowest train in the world from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, I recall reading a substantial chunk of John Le Carre's espionage novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Though not a fast-paced book, it still had more momentum than the wretched train.