My article for Thai Enquirer: “We’ve seized Government House. We’ve seized airports. That couldn’t accomplish anything. What will the current protests do?” This was a tweet from a conservative account.  This netizen doesn’t give the protestors enough credit. Already, political parties, parliament and government are moving to respond to the new and fast-changing situation. But…

“Politicians” as a group tend to be relatively uncontroversial to bash. We may perhaps like individual politicians, and we support certain political parties. Venal, self-interested, and in Thailand’s case, bad people: a positive label is seldom attached when discussing the political class as a whole Of course, the use of such labels, entirely lacking in…

My analysis for Thai Enquirer: In late February and early March, Thailand looked like it had arrived at a political turning point. A no-confidence debate aimed at multiple cabinet ministers had just failed. A wave of student demonstrations had erupted across the country, sparked by anger at the dissolution of the Future Forward Party on…

Glyn Morgan, a professor at Syracuse University, recently categorized the different strategies that states have been pursuing to respond to the coronavirus. One is what he terms the “Darwinian state”: the state favors limited social distancing and instead largely protects the economy, albeit at immense human cost to those most vulnerable to the virus. The…

Today, government whips announced that he disagreed with the opposition’s calls for parliament to be recalled so that it could deliberate the economic relief bill. “I’m concerned that if parliament meets, we might create another cluster of infections like at the Lumpini boxing stadium, leading the nation to another crisis,” Chief Whip Wirat Ratanaset said.…

My new article for the Thai Enquirer: King Rama VI, a distinguished poet, once wrote the Sepha Samakee Sevok, exhorting the Thai people to unite as one under common leadership. A metaphor that he deployed was that of Siam as a ship. “The people are sailors in the sea, who must display a common unity”, the…

My new piece for the Thai Enquirer: “It won’t take long for Thais to develop immunity from coronavirus”, the post read, “but if we don’t deal with the nation-hating virus, a crisis will ensue.”  Dr. Warong Dechgitvigrom is not a politician known for pulling his punches, and this Facebook post was true to form. ‘Lutti chung-chard’,…

My article in the newly-launched Thai Enquirer:  …Just because pro-democracy conservatism did not work the first time does not mean that it cannot work in the future, under inspired leadership and a more credible commitment to democratic ideals. With the ongoing implosion of the Democrat Party, is there room for such a party to emerge?…

My new article in the Bangkok Post on building consensus for constitutional reform in Thailand: As is characteristic of our polarised society, opinion is deeply divided on whether the 2017 constitution should be amended. Some will say that constitutional revision is effectively hopeless, a remote possibility until the powers that be permit an amendment. The…

I have finals coming up and so I don’t have much time to write, but given that the Democrats will soon be electing a new party leader, I wanted to offer a few thoughts. That the Democrats performed catastrophically in the most recent election is a well known point. The extent of the electoral collapse…