Showing 1 - 10 of 167
A backdrop to Trump's stunning win
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/11/2024
» Analysts often face the tough task of assessing an outcome the way it is rather than how they would like it to be. Nowhere is this challenge more daunting than analysing the stunning election results in the United States this week. Against the odds, former President Donald J Trump of the Republican Party has resoundingly won a second term over Vice President Kamala D Harris of the Democratic Party both in the popular vote and the Electoral College. The Republican Party also captured the Senate and the House of Representatives. While the implications for Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia are wide-ranging and far-reaching, it is first and foremost necessary to understand the nature of the Trump victory.
Defusing heritage rows
Oped, Editorial, Published on 18/04/2024
» As the Songkran water-splashing festival draws to a close in Thailand and Cambodia, the war of words among netizens -- sparked by a Thai influencer who made sarcastic comments about the Khmer New Year -- drags on.
Paetongtarn's fated rise in Thai politics
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 04/11/2023
» Most, if not all, political observers find Paetongtarn Shinawatra's rise to power in the Pheu Thai Party as anything but a surprise.
Thaksin's return: A blast from the past
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 29/07/2023
» After making more than 20 empty promises to return to Thailand, it seems this time fugitive ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is for real about his imminent homecoming.
D-Day for Pita, but change inevitable
Oped, Kheetanat Synth Wannaboworn & Walden Bello, Published on 12/07/2023
» Tomorrow will probably be the most decisive day in Thailand after nearly a decade of military rule. The key question on everyone’s lips is: Will the conservative forces allow the young leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), Pita Limjaroenrat, to become the next prime minister? And the question which naturally follows is: If Mr Pita is blocked, what will happen? Will people go out to the streets in protest? Will soldiers be sent to disperse them? Will the violence of over ten years ago, which led to the military’s ouster of a civilian government installed by popular vote, return to Bangkok?
Late convert to democracy
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/03/2023
» Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Palang Pracharath Party Gen Prawit Wongsuwon's latest attempts to woo voter support raises quite a few eyebrows.
China should brace for brutal Covid winter
Oped, Nancy Qian, Published on 07/01/2023
» Last month, China ended its zero-Covid policy, bringing a tumultuous end to restrictions after nearly three years. The suddenness of the move surprised nearly everyone. The process could have been much more gradual, with a slower shift from mass forced lockdowns to more flexible policies. Instead, it has effectively thrown caution to the wind.
Too lax on Covid curbs?
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/01/2023
» This Sunday, the Great Wall of Covid quarantine in China finally will be lifted, with millions of Chinese travellers set to make their first overseas trip in three years after an outbound travel ban that has been in place since January 2020.
The challenge of digital governance
Oped, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa and Bruce Gilley, Published on 12/11/2022
» Thailand was an early adopter of the internet for government services, creating an e-government system as early as 1997. But political turmoil in 2006 caused the kingdom to fall behind. When the United Nations ranked countries by e-government in 2012, Thailand was a dismal 92nd out of 193.
India's crisis a self-inflicted catastrophe
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 26/10/2022
» Nearly 80% of the estimated 70 million people around the world who fell into extreme poverty at the onset of Covid-19 in 2020 were from India, a recent World Bank report has revealed. But even this shocking figure could be an underestimation, as the lack of official data makes it difficult to assess the pandemic's human costs.