THAILAND
By James L. Taylor
East Asia Forum-June 27
22 May 2018 marked four years since Thailand’s last coup — the 12th successful one (out of 19) in Thailand since 1932. The motives behind the most recent coup were complex and depend on who you ask. But one thing is clear: throughout its history and in the years since the 2014 coup, Thailand’s fascistic tendencies have emerged through the crevices of an imaginary democratic state. Thailand was never able to establish its democratic bearings and has been constantly held back by military–monarchy interests.
Upon seizing power in 2014, the military junta was quick to suppress dissent, limiting rights and freedoms. The coup makers replaced officials at all levels with hand-picked senators and lackeys emplaced in all public sectors, administration, courts and so-called independent bodies. Aside from the implications of the 2017 military constitution, this would make it difficult for a new freely elected party to implement institutional or policy reforms.
Read more at: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2018/06/27/illusions-of-progress-towards-thai-democracy/
First published in: East Asia Forum
