Showing 1 - 10 of 15
The art of persuasion
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/02/2026
» Following the Siamese Revolution, the country held its first general election and only indirect vote on Nov 15, 1933. Voters chose village representatives, who then elected candidates in their province to enter parliament. In the run-up to the country's first poll, Samran I-machai, an MP candidate in Ayutthaya, handed out booklets to voters.
Shut out Pheu Thai: city rally
Life, Post Reporters, Published on 01/09/2025
» Demonstrators gathered at Victory Monument on Sunday under the banner of the "United Power of the Land to Protect Sovereignty" group, voicing opposition to the Pheu Thai Party and its potential role in forming the next government.
Generational politics
Life, Suwatchai Songwanich, Published on 11/11/2024
» Political conflicts around the world typically arise from divisions based on class, ethnicity, rural-urban disparities and caste, rather than age differences. This observation caused Asst Prof Kanokrat Lertchoosakul, lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, to investigate if it is true that political conflict in Thailand is one between generations.
From past to present
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 12/06/2024
» When photographer Manit Sriwanichpoom visited Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya in 2021, he was surprised to see broken Buddha statues. What was unique was broken parts of the Buddha statues were replaced with fragments from other Buddha statues. He wondered why the Fine Arts Department structured Buddha statues that way, since the fragments were a mismatch.
Soft power struggles
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 05/06/2024
» Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's 10 months in office have proven to be full of optimism, entertainment and drama. His non-stop whirlwind trips to lure investors including Microsoft, Tesla, Formula One, Tomorrowland and Art Basel to Thailand earned him the image of the salesman on a Time magazine cover. With the government's 10-month report card out and future plans in discussion, there has been both applause and confusion.
Reforming Thai cinema
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 03/06/2024
» It has been eight months since the National Soft Power Strategy Committee was established under the government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Meanwhile, the Thai film industry, supported by the Thailand Creative Culture Agency, has not seen any significant changes.
Getting soft power right
Life, Prof Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 08/01/2024
» After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.
Very soft Thai power in the making
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 20/09/2023
» Since the recent return of Thaksin Shinawatra after 15 years of self-exile to Bangkok and the parliamentary selection of Srettha Thavisin as Thailand's 30th prime minister on the same day, politics and culture have unfolded with drama and excitement.
Memes of dissent
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/08/2023
» It is not as whimsical as it seems. After the onset of the largest pro-democracy movement since the military coup in 2014, university and high school students cuddled hamster dolls and ran around in circles. "Delicious tax!", hundreds of them sang, from a cartoon jingle at Democracy Monument in late July 2020. Crowdsourced from a social media platform, Hamtaro, a shorthand for caged mice demanding freedom, spawned many internet memes, including a greedy caricature of junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Class is in session
Life, Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 10/05/2023
» Last Saturday, a crowd of children with their families, as well as politicians and their supporters, braved the blistering summer heat to gather at the "Candidate Classroom" event where representatives of six political parties discussed Thai education and the rights of children within schools. Styled as a game show, "Candidate Classroom" saw politicians face off in a lively debate with cheers, boos and music filling the One Arena at Stadium One in Bangkok.