Putting Yingluck’s populist foreign policy in perspective      

The Yingluck’s Shinawatra administration has initiated the country’s first large-scale populist foreign policy, with a purported emphasis on common Thais. Included in the government’s policy statement as one of its 10 top priorities is the betterment of people’s knowledge of common border problems and of the impact of globalization, all with the aim of forging a consensus on foreign policy. (The Nation)

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Can Yingluck fix Cambodia ties?      

The election of Yingluck Shinawatra has raised hopes that Thailand can improve its prickly ties with Cambodia. But will the Thai Army get in the way?      (The Diplomat)

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Thai diplomacy: Where personal, national affairs can’t mix      

Once again personal ad national agenda clashes head-on once Surapong tohwichachaikul, MP from Chianmai, was named foreign minister last week. Focus has been zeroed in on his perceived role whether he will speak on behalf of the country or Thaksin Shinawatra. Lots of questions were also raised due to his close relationship to the former prime minister, who was sentenced to two-year jail term on conflict of interests. Lingering doubts over the minister’s intention would have dire consequences for Thailand’s external relations and its place in the world. (The Nation)

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The job nobody wants: next foreign minister   

   

The new Thai foreign minister, whoever is appointed, will face many complicated and difficult tasks as the previous government has left some “hot potatoes” for whoever takes up senior ministerial post. (The Nation)

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A Tale of Two Countries: Family Planning in the Philippines and Thailand   

Whenever students ask him if family planning is really essential in curbing population growth, Dr. Nibhon Debavalya, Thailand’s leading population expert, responds with a parable about Thailand and the Philippines. Interestingly, Meechai Viravaidya, the family planning and HIV-AIDS activist who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994, answers the same question with the same story. (The Inquirer)

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Thailand’s foreign relations under the new government     

Although Yingluck is yet to substantively comment on her foreign policy agenda, its orientation can be deduced from her ‘Thailand vision 2020’, announced before the election. The Vision 2020 clearly shows that the new government will likely have an outward oriented policy emphasising Thailand’s leading role in the international arena. It reinvigorates Thailand’s desire to be a regional hub for many activities, such as aviation, finance, health services and food production. (East Asia Forum)

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A landslide, yet inconclusive   
      

How will Yingluck Shinawatra rule Thailand after she led her Pheu Thai party to a landslide election victory on Sunday? How much of the decisions she makes as the new prime minister will be dictated by her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the real power behind the party, who is currently living in exile? How long will the Bangkok political elite tolerate this government-by-proxy, and how long will it be before the Thai military, with the nod of the king, decides to step in again and seize power? (The Jakarta Post)

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Thailand’s General Elections and Fears about Continuing Political Instability  
  

In Thailand’s July 3 general elections, 42 parties will compete for 500 seats in the Parliament’s lower house and vie for the support of 47 million eligible voters. The ruling Democrat Party and the main opposition Puea Thai Party are the primary contenders, but other smaller parties are contesting as well. No party is expected to win a majority of the parliamentary seats, which means that smaller parties will have to join one of the main parties to form a coalition government. (CSIS)

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Thai election results will affect ASEAN    

The upcoming Thai elections are only days away. Pheu Thai Party’s Yingluck Shinawatra is ahead in the polls and the military has just, not so subtly, nudged its support in the direction of the Democratic Party. Whilst a repetition of the 2006 coup d’état is far from imminent, the implications of a recurrence of such an event would not only affect Thailand, who has the second largest economy in the region, but the ASEAN region as a whole. (The Jakarta Post)

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Thai elections and role of powerful military   

Thailand’s powerful army chief, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, appears determined to carve out a dominant role for the military in the coming weeks, as political parties seek to woo an estimated 45 million voters ahead of the general election on July 3. (The Brunei Times)

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Paint Thailand yellow and red, with a caveat to compromise    
  

After three consecutive years of deadly street protests, Thailand has arrived at the point where it will need to hold new elections, as the current term of its national assembly expires next December.                (The Japan Times)

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