Since the rise of Thaksin Shinawatra to power in 2001, Thailand has been engulfed in a twenty year political crisis. ‘Thailand in Crisis’ is a series of articles that seeks to chronicle these events.
An Introduction: an introduction to the goal of the series.
1. Setting the Stage: Thaksin’s entrance into politics during the turbulent democratic period of the 1990s and the drafting of the 1997 constitution.
2. The Rise of Thaksin: Thaksin’s 2001 election victory and his rise to the premiership.
3. Thaksinomics: How Thaksin’s economic policies allowed him to earn rural support.
4. Thaksinocracy: How Thaksin consolidated his political power to an unprecedented degree for an elected prime minister.
5. The 2006 Coup: The coup d’état that removed Thaksin from power and the drafting of the 2007 constitution.
6. Nominee Governments: the premierships of Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat, and the yellow shirt protests.
7. Battlefield in Bangkok: Abhisit Vejjajiva’s premiership and the red shirt protests.
8. Amnesty and Anarchy: the rise and fall of Yingluck Shinawatra and the PDRC protests.
9. The 2014 Coup: The coup d’état that brought Prayut to power and the drafting of the 2016 constitution.
Unanswered Questions: what is the path forward for Thailand?
Ken Mathis Lohatepanont 