Death of Thai King Throws Country Into Turmoil

Thailand is among the world’s 30 largest economies, though political differences since 2001 have contributed to slowing growth. The Thai king has died, and the crown prince who has lived mostly outside the country with a lifestyle described as excessive is less popular. The constitutional monarchy made military coups easier, reports the Economist, and it’s “widely assumed that the succession could tilt the balance in a deep feud which has roiled Thailand’s politics for ten years – a sporadically violent class war of sorts that has pitted middle-class urbanites against the rural poor, and which in 2014 brought a particularly oppressive junta to power.’ The crown prince is reported to side with Thaksin Shinawatra, former prime minister who was toppled by a coup in 2006, but whose party continues to win elections. Another coup removed Thaksin’s sister as prime minister in 2014. So far, the military junta shows no signs of tinkering with the transition and instead works on propping up the royal family’s image. Stability may depend on the crown prince’s behavior and his relationship with the military. An election scheduled for 2017 may be postponed. – YaleGlobal