Showing 1 - 10 of 65
Thailand's political trajectory in 2026
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/01/2026
» What happens in Thai politics this year and the immediate horizon will be determined by the upcoming election on Feb 8. While contesting political parties are in full campaign mode, the contemporary history of Thai polls so far in the 21st century is not encouraging. Only once in the past 25 years have voting results went the way they were meant to, in accordance with the popular will. Whether the vote in four weeks will follow the same pattern will depend on whether the conservative establishment gets its preferred outcome.
Driving them away
Oped, Postbag, Published on 01/01/2026
» Re: "Airport tax to rise 53% for international flights", (BP, Dec 4).
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.
Baht headache
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/12/2025
» Re: "BoT cracks down on surging baht", (Business, Dec 17). While the baht's currency strength is an ever-more concerning issue, as pointed out numerous times, what is rarely mentioned is the likely excess Thai foreign reserves, nearing an astonishing US$270 billion.
Protect the judges
Oped, Postbag, Published on 25/08/2025
» Re: "Thaksin beats lese majeste rap," (BP, Aug 23).
Future utopias stumble over governance
Oped, Joe Mathews, Published on 20/08/2025
» In 2020, the rapper Akon declared he would build his own eponymous city on the site of the coastal village of Mbodiène, Senegal.
Laughable justice
Oped, Postbag, Published on 20/05/2025
» Re: "Justice must ditch the glitz", (Editorial, May 13).
Bucking the trend
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/03/2025
» Re: "Transition-finance for a green economy", (Opinion, March 10).
Smart geopolitics starts on home front
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2025
» According to a longstanding axiom, all politics is local. If so, then smart and crafty geopolitics must start at home with sufficient domestic political stability and consensus about how the country should navigate what is increasingly a turbulent geostrategic chessboard. Put this way, few countries can appreciate the intersection of geopolitics and domestic politics more than Thailand. Its rocky and volatile home front over the past two decades continues to impede and constrain its geostrategic projection.
Social Security Office spending concerns
Oped, Editorial, Published on 19/02/2025
» Concerns raised about budget spending on communication and PR by the Social Security Office (SSO) have brought a much-needed spotlight on the agency that oversees the Social Security Fund (SSF).