Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Another wasted year in Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/12/2025
» As Thailand winds down 2025 with an early election looming on Feb 8, the most consequential issue to watch in the coming year will be whether recent topsy-turvy political patterns of polls, protests, and military and judicial interventions give way to a compromise between the old guard clinging on to vested interests and the new generation clamouring for reform and change.
Climate crisis is also a costly one
Oped, Mónica Araya & Saliem Fakir, Published on 08/01/2025
» Global inflation in recent years has pushed the prices of food, energy, and basic goods to unprecedented levels. As a result, the rising cost of living has dominated political discussion around the world, but especially in G20 countries. Ahead of this year's presidential election in the United States, for example, 41% of Americans cited inflation as their top economic issue.
The politics of the term-limit wrangle
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/08/2022
» Time is not on the side of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as various groups of people want to see the back of him. Now that he has survived the last of four no-confidence votes in parliament since the March 2019 election, many are pinning their hopes that the eight-year prime ministerial term limit will upend Gen Prayut's rule.
China-US rivalry on Mekong mainland
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/11/2020
» Unlike other key foreign policy areas where President-elect Joe Biden will likely change the course left behind by outgoing President Donald Trump, the Mekong River region in mainland Southeast Asia represents a low-hanging fruit where continuity from Washington carries consensus. As China has dominated the Mekong space by operating a string of upstream dams and controlling downstream river resources, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam as adversely affected riparian countries have looked for ways and means to mitigate and counterbalance Beijing's aggressive freshwater offensive. All the incoming Biden administration has to do is to keep its eye on the Mekong and work with like-minded partners to keep mainland Southeast Asian countries from becoming Beijing's uncontested front yard.
Last days of the Old Middle East
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/09/2020
» President Donald Trump declared "the dawn of a new Middle East" in Washington on Tuesday as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed public agreements with Israel for the first time.