Militarization and Securatization in Thailand's Deep South
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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. -
Thialand's Emergency State: Struggles and Transformations
10a Michael.indd 285 4/25/11 6:17:23 PM 10a Michael.indd 286 4/25/11 6:17:24 PM Southeast Asian Affairs 2011 THAILAND’S EMERGENCY STATE Struggles and Transformations Michael K. Connors Thailand’s political landscape in 2010 was dominated by the ravine-like political division over the rules that define the acceptable exercise of power. Just as yellow- shirted protestors of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had staged a four- month “civic uprising” in 2008 against what they claimed was an illegitimate proxy government of the self-exiled Thaksin Shinawatra, so in 2010 red-shirt protestors from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship — Red All Over the Land (UDD)1 — rebelled against a government they claimed was a puppet of the bureau-aristocratic establishment, what they called the amaat. They occupied major intersections in Bangkok from mid-March to 19 May and called for the army to abandon the government. In 2010, a river of blood ran through the political division. Fatal clashes between red shirts and the Royal Thai Military left over ninety people dead and thousands injured. Previous episodes of mass protest and repression — such as those in 1973, 1976, and 1992 — have come to define new political eras. It remains uncertain as to whether the same may be said of the April-May killings, or if those events are part of a series, as yet unfinished, of increasingly unpredictable political struggle. The clashes highlighted the deadly trajectory of a contradictory politics that has emerged since the 2006 coup d’état that deposed Thaksin Shinawatra from office.2 These politics are characterized by antagonistic and hybrid political forces that, in practice, undermine their declared democratic objectives. -
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. -
November 30, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News • Although
November 30, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News Although the protest that took place yesterday is the big news, in our view the bigger news is the fact that there is an ongoing outbreak of the Covid-19 in the norther city of Chiang Mai. The case arose as 2 ladies in Chiang Mai had a ball of a time in the city, while being infected with the virus after having come from Myanmar. A 29-year old Thai came into Thailand via the border Tachileik in Myanmar, they were staying at 1G1 hotel in Tachileik (Myanmar). The lady who came into Chiang Rai and then sat in a van to go to Chiang Mai then o Used Grab car to go around the city o Went to a bar host to pick up some guy and slept with him o She also went to Central Festival and went to a movie there The provincial public health office in Chiang Mai yesterday called for calm among Chiang Mai locals as officials were yet to detect any further infections among people who had been in close contact with an infected Thai woman feared to be a super spreader. There is a growing fear that the 29-year old lady in question could be the so called super spreader and rumours have been flying around that she had come to Bangkok as well although this rumour was shot down by the authorities. Authorities have said that they are testing more than 300 people but nobody has been found to be infected. Out of the 306 people who were in close contact were 85 people 80 have been self quarantine at their houses and only 5 have in state- quarantine People who got them from the other side (no numbers) are yet to be traced 11 people who were in the van have not been able to be located 35 of them who were in the bus who took from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai On the political protest, well, thousands of anti-government protesters led by the Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party) group yesterday marched to the 11th Infantry Regiment This regiment falls under HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s personal control after the army unit was transferred to be under his direct control by the government of embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in 2019. -
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. -
Constructing the 'Red' Otherness: the Role and Implications of Thainess on Polarised Politics Bunyavejchewin, Poowin
www.ssoar.info Constructing the 'Red' otherness: the role and implications of Thainess on polarised politics Bunyavejchewin, Poowin Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Bunyavejchewin, P. (2010). Constructing the 'Red' otherness: the role and implications of Thainess on polarised politics. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 3(2), 241-248. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-361304 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de ASEAS 3(2) Forum Südostasien / Forum South-East Asia Constructing the ‘Red’ Otherness: The Role and Implications of Thainess on Polarised Politics 1 Poowin Bunyavejchewin University of Hull, United Kingdom Citation Bunyavejchewin, P. (2010). Constructing the ‘Red’ Otherness: The Role and Implications of Thainess on Polarised Politics. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 3(2), 241-248. Introduction I think the Red Shirts are not Thai people because they destroyed things, they destroyed Bangkok, they destroyed Thailand. (“Bangkok Races to Erase Traces of Protest,” 2010) The above statement was made by a dress-shop owner whose shop was located near the site of the destruction caused by the riot in May 2010. His statement is interesting in that he identified the Red Shirts, members of a political alliance opposing the current government, as not being Thai. -
Care and Emotional Imperialism
THE YALE REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CARE AND EMOTIONAL IMPERIALISM Filipino Migrant Workers and the Ethics of Home Healthcare Cover Story by Arpita Wadhwa, Ashoka University p. 5 WINTER ISSUE 2020 | YRIS.YIRA.ORG Care and Emotional Imperialism Filipino Migrant Workers and the 5 Ethics of Home Healthcare Winter Issue 2020 | Volume 11, 2 Arpita Wadhwa Ashoka University CONTENTS Confronting the Leviathan National Populism and Integration 17 in Central and Eastern Europe Greyson Hoye Pacific Lutheran University China's Information and Communications Technologies 42 Engagement in Africa A Comparative Analysis Amy Tong Tufts University Thailand's Military-Industrial Complex A Case Study of the Thai Military Bank 64 Coleman Lambo Rice University "Music for the Many" A Quantitative Inquiry into Contextual 77 Questions Surrounding National Anthem Adoption Price Phillips American University 1 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ariana Habibi Tyler Jager Will Howard-Waddingham Staff Numi Katz Tasnim Islam Lucy Kim MANAGING EDITORS Max Krupnick Blake Bridge Joaquín Lara Midkiff Juanita Garcia Uribe Alayna Lee Mary Orsak Haze Lee Vishwa Padigepati Jason Lee Joon Lee OUTREACH DIRECTOR Mason LaPlante Samantha Larkin Emily Lin Yusra Mohamed ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR Minahil Nawaz Alizeh Yahya Sam Pekats Allison Rice DESIGN EDITOR Marianna Sierra Mary Orsak Andrew Song Pearl Hwang Henry Suckow Ziemer Josie Jahng Eda Uzunlar Monique Nikolov Miguel Von Fedak Chanwook Park Gabriella Wallk Elizabeth Zietz EDITORS Adoma Addo CONTRIBUTORS Joe Boland Arpita Wadhwa Amelia Browne Greyson Hoye Nathalie Bussemaker Amy Tong Coco Chai Coleman Lambo Kiran Damodaran Price Phillips Ruquiyah Damrah Carlos Del Rio Oropeza Helen Dugmore Steven Dykstra Fatma Elsayed Chase Finney Bayan Galal Gianna Griffin The Yale Review of International Studies ISSN 2765-9151 (Print) ISSN 2765-916X (Online) © 2021 Yale International Relations Association New Haven, CT 2 Dear Reader, We are proud to present to you the 2020 Winter Issue of the Yale Review of International Studies.