Thai Democracy Enters Dangerous New Crossroads

Bitter division in Thailand is a crisis for democracy, a divide that goes hand in hand with complicated relations with the nation’s monarchy. Protest leaders have suggested a preference for a government of elite experts and, according to Todd Pitman of the Associated Press, seek to establish “what amounts to a parallel government – complete with ‘volunteer peacekeepers’ to replace the police, a ‘people's council’ to rule and a foreign policy to go with it.” One protest leader calls the strong ruling party a “dictatorial majority,” even though Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has given ground by dissolving the lower house of Parliament and calling for new elections. The country is sharply divided – royalists and elites versus large numbers of rural poor who have benefited from populist policies of ruling Pheu Thai and the influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,Yingluck’s brother who is in exile after corruption accusations. Adding to political intrigue – the only son of the 86-year-old king may also be pro-Thaksin. So far, the military is maintaining neutrality in a messy quarrel that threatens Thailand’s place among Asia’s 10 largest economic powers. – YaleGlobal