Thialand's Emergency State: Struggles and Transformations
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The Pluralistic Poverty of Phalang Pracharat
ISSUE: 2021 No. 29 ISSN 2335-6677 RESEARCHERS AT ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE ANALYSE CURRENT EVENTS Singapore | 12 March 2021 Thailand’s Elected Junta: The Pluralistic Poverty of Phalang Pracharat Paul Chambers* Left: Deputy Prime Minister and Phalang Pracharat Party Leader General Prawit Wongsuwan Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prawit_Wongsuwan_Thailand%27s_Minister_of_D efense.jpg. Right: Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha Source:https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%8C:Prayu th_2018_cropped.jpg. * Paul Chambers is Lecturer and Special Advisor for International Affairs, Center of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand, and, in March-May 2021, Visiting Fellow with the Thailand Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. 1 ISSUE: 2021 No. 29 ISSN 2335-6677 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Thailand’s Phalang Pracharat Party is a “junta party” established as a proxy for the 2014-2019 junta and the military, and specifically designed to sustain the power of the generals Prawit Wongsuwan, Prayut Chan-ocha and Anupong Paochinda. • Phalang Pracharat was created by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), and although it is extremely factionalized, having 20 cliques, it is nevertheless dominated by an Army faction headed by General Prawit Wongsuwan. • The party is financed by powerful corporations and by its intra-party faction leaders. • In 2021, Phalang Pracharat has become a model for other militaries in Southeast Asia intent on institutionalising their power. In Thailand itself, the party has become so well- entrenched that it will be a difficult task removing it from office. 2 ISSUE: 2021 No. -
Thailand White Paper
THE BANGKOK MASSACRES: A CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY ―A White Paper by Amsterdam & Peroff LLP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For four years, the people of Thailand have been the victims of a systematic and unrelenting assault on their most fundamental right — the right to self-determination through genuine elections based on the will of the people. The assault against democracy was launched with the planning and execution of a military coup d’état in 2006. In collaboration with members of the Privy Council, Thai military generals overthrew the popularly elected, democratic government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose Thai Rak Thai party had won three consecutive national elections in 2001, 2005 and 2006. The 2006 military coup marked the beginning of an attempt to restore the hegemony of Thailand’s old moneyed elites, military generals, high-ranking civil servants, and royal advisors (the “Establishment”) through the annihilation of an electoral force that had come to present a major, historical challenge to their power. The regime put in place by the coup hijacked the institutions of government, dissolved Thai Rak Thai and banned its leaders from political participation for five years. When the successor to Thai Rak Thai managed to win the next national election in late 2007, an ad hoc court consisting of judges hand-picked by the coup-makers dissolved that party as well, allowing Abhisit Vejjajiva’s rise to the Prime Minister’s office. Abhisit’s administration, however, has since been forced to impose an array of repressive measures to maintain its illegitimate grip and quash the democratic movement that sprung up as a reaction to the 2006 military coup as well as the 2008 “judicial coups.” Among other things, the government blocked some 50,000 web sites, shut down the opposition’s satellite television station, and incarcerated a record number of people under Thailand’s infamous lèse-majesté legislation and the equally draconian Computer Crimes Act. -
The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand: Trends in Violence, Counterinsurgency Operations, and the Impact of National Politics by Zachary Abuza
STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES 6 The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand: Trends in Violence, Counterinsurgency Operations, and the Impact of National Politics by Zachary Abuza Center for Strategic Research Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) is National Defense University’s (NDU’s) dedicated research arm. INSS includes the Center for Strategic Research, Center for Technology and National Security Policy, Center for Complex Operations, and Center for Strategic Conferencing. The military and civilian analysts and staff who comprise INSS and its subcomponents execute their mission by conducting research and analysis, and publishing, and participating in conferences, policy support, and outreach. The mission of INSS is to conduct strategic studies for the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Unified Combatant Commands in support of the academic programs at NDU and to perform outreach to other U.S. Government agencies and the broader national security community. Cover: Thai and U.S. Army Soldiers participate in Cobra Gold 2006, a combined annual joint training exercise involving the United States, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia. Photo by Efren Lopez, U.S. Air Force The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand: Trends in Violence, Counterinsurgency Operations, and the Impact of National Politics The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand: Trends in Violence, Counterinsurgency Operations, and the Impact of National Politics By Zachary Abuza Institute for National Strategic Studies Strategic Perspectives, No. 6 Series Editors: C. Nicholas Rostow and Phillip C. Saunders National Defense University Press Washington, D.C. -
August 9, 2021 Thai Enquirer Summary COVID-19 News
August 9, 2021 Thai Enquirer Summary COVID-19 News Thailand recorded yet another day of record infection today Today’s numbers are as follows: Total New Infections = 19,603 Community Infection = 19,290 Prison Infection = 313 Total + cases (ATK or Antigen) = 958 Total New Death = 149 Total New Recovery = 19,819 Total Infection including ATK = 20,561 Details of data for each day can be found @ https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/ Infection over the weekend continued to show record high numbers as well. On Saturday August 7th the infection level (including ATK) stood at 27,864 positive cases (out of this 21,838 positive cases were from PCR tests). Deaths on Saturday stood at a record high of 212 people. On Sunday the PCR positive cases were 19,983 cases while deaths were at 138. 27,864 Although the official figures of the past 2-days has been below 20,000, the simulation done by a professor at Mahidol University shows that Thailand’s infection numbers could rise to a total of nearly 4 million by end of October. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuanchan Singkran, Faculty of Environment and Resources, Mahidol University, forecast and analyzed the results. ‘Covid-19 situation’ according to a ‘mathematical simulation’ indications are that the infection of COVID-19 Thailand is likely to reach 1 million as of August 19 (from 775,108 as of today) and hit 4 million by the end of October 2021. From the forecast from January 12 to October 31, it was found that the daily infection rate for the 4th wave was in the range of 20,295-50,931 cases/day. -
A Coup Ordained? Thailand's Prospects for Stability
A Coup Ordained? Thailand’s Prospects for Stability Asia Report N°263 | 3 December 2014 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Thailand in Turmoil ......................................................................................................... 2 A. Power and Legitimacy ................................................................................................ 2 B. Contours of Conflict ................................................................................................... 4 C. Troubled State ............................................................................................................ 6 III. Path to the Coup ............................................................................................................... 9 A. Revival of Anti-Thaksin Coalition ............................................................................. 9 B. Engineering a Political Vacuum ................................................................................ 12 IV. Military in Control ............................................................................................................ 16 A. Seizing Power -
Civil-Military Relations in Thailand Since the 2014 Coup the Tragedy of Security Sector "Deform"
PRIF Report No. 138 Civil-Military Relations in Thailand since the 2014 Coup The Tragedy of Security Sector "Deform" Paul Chambers the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) 2015 Contact: PRIF Baseler Straße 27–31 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany Phone: +49 69 959104-0 Fax: +49 69 558481 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.prif.org ISBN: 978-3-946459-04-0 10.00 € Summary Thailand in 2016 is under military authoritarian rule. How and why did this come to be? How has the military sustained itself in power and what is the future of Thailand’s military? To answer these questions, this report looks at the history and evolution of civil- military relations in Thailand as well as its attempts at achieving a variant of security sector reform (SSR) which values civilian control and democracy. SSR of course concentrates upon all security services, including police, paramilitaries as well as legislative, executive and judicial actors. In addition, while there should be non-state actors involved, including civil society and non-state bodies to regulate conflicts, there are very few if any of these in Thailand. Perhaps the clearest example is Deep South Watch which focuses on the conflict between the state and insurgents in Thailand’s far South. In fact, in Thailand the sheer duration of time (over 100 years) that the armed forces have either dominated or partnered with the monarchy in lording over politics and society accounts for why this report focuses upon the military alone. It also accounts for why Thai efforts at achieving genuine SSR have failed to sustain themselves. -
(Title of the Thesis)*
University of Huddersfield Repository Treewai, Pichet Political Economy of Media Development and Management of the Media in Bangkok Original Citation Treewai, Pichet (2015) Political Economy of Media Development and Management of the Media in Bangkok. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26449/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE MEDIA IN BANGKOK PICHET TREEWAI A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Strategy, Marketing and Economics The University of Huddersfield March 2015 Abstract This study is important due to the crucial role of media in the dissemination of information, especially in emerging economies, such as Thailand. -
The Owners of the Map: Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Mobility, and Politics in Bangkok
The Owners of the Map: motorcycle taxi drivers, mobility, and politics in Bangkok The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Sopranzetti, Claudio. 2013. The Owners of the Map: motorcycle taxi drivers, mobility, and politics in Bangkok. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11169780 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Owners of the Map Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Mobility, and Politics in Bangkok. A dissertation presented by Claudio Sopranzetti The Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Social Anthropology Harvard University Cambridge, MA September 2013 © 2013 – Claudio Sopranzetti All rights reserved. Professor Michael Herzfeld Claudio Sopranzetti The Owners of the Map: Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Mobility, and Politics in Bangkok. Abstract This dissertation offers an ethnography of motorcycle taxi drivers: Bangkok’s most important and informal network of everyday mobility. Drawing on over eight years of experience in the region, six months of archival research, and 24 months of fieldwork, I analyze how the drivers, mostly male rural migrants, negotiate their presence in the city through spatial expertise, bodily practices, and social relations. Their physical mobility through traffic, I argue, shapes their ability to find unexplored routes in the social, economic, and political landscapes of the city and to create paths for action where other urban dwellers see a traffic jam or a political gridlock. -
US Proxies in Southeast Asia Include Fake Communists
US Proxies in Southeast Asia Include Fake Communists By Joseph Thomas Region: Asia Global Research, October 05, 2017 Theme: History, US NATO War Agenda New Eastern Outlook 4 October 2017 A quick geopolitical audit of Washington’s political and military proxies around the globe reveals a tangled web that, at first glance, appears contradictory and incoherent. Fascists in Kiev who hold extreme views regarding race and religion enjoy equal standing in Washington with Wahhabi militants across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Two groups who would otherwise find themselves ideologically opposed, instead find themselves working toward a common cause, one on behalf of Washington. And Washington itself, which would appear at first glance diametrically opposed to both fascism and Wahhabism, instead counts both among its closest and most reliable facilitators and functionaries around the globe. And while the rank and file of Americans, Ukrainians and Wahhabi militants may genuinely believe in otherwise contradictory and incompatible ideologies, cursory research reveals that the leadership of all three groups are motivated by money and the influence it buys far more than their alleged, respective ideologies. In Southeast Asia, Wahhabi-inspired militants also serve Washington’s interests across the region. They are joined byneo-liberal academics and journalists who eagerly serve Washington, London, Brussels and the Western clubs and networks these neo-liberals seek memberships within. But there is also another curious and perhaps ironic member of this otherwise contradictory alliance, supposed “Communists” and “socialists.” Thailand’s “Communists”and the Capitalists They Love The most transparent example of this is found in Thailand in the form of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). -
Civil-Military Relations in Thailand Since the 2014 Coup: the Tragedy of Security Sector "Deform" Chambers, Paul
www.ssoar.info Civil-military relations in Thailand since the 2014 coup: the tragedy of security sector "deform" Chambers, Paul Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Arbeitspapier / working paper Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (HSFK) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Chambers, P. (2015). Civil-military relations in Thailand since the 2014 coup: the tragedy of security sector "deform". (PRIF Reports, 138). Frankfurt am Main: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-46948-6 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine This document is made available under Deposit Licence (No Weiterverbreitung - keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Redistribution - no modifications). We grant a non-exclusive, non- Gewährt wird ein nicht exklusives, nicht übertragbares, transferable, individual and limited right to using this document. persönliches und beschränktes Recht auf Nutzung dieses This document is solely intended for your personal, non- Dokuments. Dieses Dokument ist ausschließlich für commercial use. All of the copies of this documents must retain den persönlichen, nicht-kommerziellen Gebrauch bestimmt. all copyright information and other information regarding legal Auf sämtlichen Kopien dieses Dokuments müssen alle protection. You are not allowed to alter this document in any Urheberrechtshinweise und sonstigen Hinweise auf gesetzlichen way, to copy it for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the Schutz beibehalten werden. Sie dürfen dieses Dokument document in public, to perform, distribute or otherwise use the nicht in irgendeiner Weise abändern, noch dürfen Sie document in public. dieses Dokument für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke By using this particular document, you accept the above-stated vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, aufführen, vertreiben oder conditions of use. -
(Title of the Thesis)*
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Huddersfield Repository University of Huddersfield Repository Treewai, Pichet Political Economy of Media Development and Management of the Media in Bangkok Original Citation Treewai, Pichet (2015) Political Economy of Media Development and Management of the Media in Bangkok. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/26449/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE MEDIA IN BANGKOK PICHET TREEWAI A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Strategy, Marketing and Economics The University of Huddersfield March 2015 Abstract This study is important due to the crucial role of media in the dissemination of information, especially in emerging economies, such as Thailand. -
Unruly Boots: Military Power and Security Sector Reform Efforts in Thailand Chambers, Paul
www.ssoar.info Unruly boots: military power and security sector reform efforts in Thailand Chambers, Paul Arbeitspapier / working paper Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (HSFK) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Chambers, P. (2013). Unruly boots: military power and security sector reform efforts in Thailand. (PRIF Reports, 121). Frankfurt am Main: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168- ssoar-349442 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine This document is made available under Deposit Licence (No Weiterverbreitung - keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Redistribution - no modifications). We grant a non-exclusive, non- Gewährt wird ein nicht exklusives, nicht übertragbares, transferable, individual and limited right to using this document. persönliches und beschränktes Recht auf Nutzung dieses This document is solely intended for your personal, non- Dokuments. Dieses Dokument ist ausschließlich für commercial use. All of the copies of this documents must retain den persönlichen, nicht-kommerziellen Gebrauch bestimmt. all copyright information and other information regarding legal Auf sämtlichen Kopien dieses Dokuments müssen alle protection. You are not allowed to alter this document in any Urheberrechtshinweise und sonstigen Hinweise auf gesetzlichen way, to copy it for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the Schutz beibehalten werden. Sie dürfen dieses Dokument document in public, to perform, distribute or otherwise use the nicht in irgendeiner Weise abändern, noch dürfen Sie document in public. dieses Dokument für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke By using this particular document, you accept the above-stated vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, aufführen, vertreiben oder conditions of use.