Thai Royalists Must Change Tactics in Dealing with Free Speech
After printing "I'm losing faith in the monarchy" on a tee shirt, a critic of the monarchy was locked in a mental asylum. Not surprisingly, it did little to reassure Thais that authorities were acting in their best interests.
Thailand is caught in the Sino-US rivalry that has shaped a new world order
Thailand's current Prayuth government may like to think that Thailand could play a balancing game between the United States and China. But the Thai domestic problems have compromised its position.
A Softer Approach From Thailand’s Sophisticated Monarch
From the judges and the police, to the army and officials in the ICT, they all serve as defenders of the monarchy, thus making the Computer Crime Act as effective as the lèse-majesté law in purging dissent from Thai society.
The Trouble of the Palm Oil Business in Southeast Asia
With name-calling and scapegoating over the polluted haze, governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore engage in a rhetorical exercise. In reality, all parties are skating around the real issues.
The Royalists Marketplace: The Supply and Demand for Dissent in Thailand
The Royalists Marketplace elevates political criticism, bringing it from underground to a screen, from gossip and rumour to open debate.
What Will Thailand Look Like in 2020?
Vajiralongkorn is an ambitious king, he has also become increasingly politically savvy. But he is not alone in the world of ambitious leaders. New leaders, like Thanathorn, are equally ambitious. 2020 could be the year when the two collide.
A Film Unseen in Thailand
On 12 December 2019, up-and-coming Thai film producer, Thunska Pansittivorakul, thrilled his audiences at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, by showing one of his latest films – Screaming Goats – a film never to be screened in his home country, Thailand.
ต่างชาติเมินกดดันรัฐบาลทหารไทย
Almost two months after the Thai elections, no government has been formed. Clearly the junta is clinging to power. Meanwhile, the West allows this to happen as it cares little about democracy in Thailand.
The NEW REIGN of DIVISION HAS BEGUN in THAILAND
Royal absolutism is likely to pick up speed following the coronation. The possibility of consensus-making will diminish the more absolutism grows, and so too will the likelihood of political conflict.
THAI ELECTIONS 2019
Military uniforms are out, the civilian look is in. Window dressing aside: The five-year military rule has done nothing but deepen the militarisation of the Thai political landscape.