Political elites ‘are crucial to Thai democracy’

By KAS CHANWANPEN 
THE NATION

 

Anek Laothamatas

 

Public pressure also needed to steer country’s leaders, experts tell seminar.

 

DEVELOPING a truly democratic Thailand requires that the country’s elites get behind the idea, a symposium heard yesterday. But public pressure can make a difference in motivating the powerful to move in that direction. 

 

As author of “Comparative Transition to Democracy”, political scientist Siriphan Noksuan Sawasdee literally wrote the book on the democratisation experiences of other countries. She told the seminar that the role of the political elites is one of the most important factors in moving a country from authoritarianism to democracy.

 

Without their willpower, she said, it was unlikely the process would be successful.

 

Fellow political scientist Surachat Bamrungsuk agreed that changes were mostly the result of decisions made by the country’s leaders.

 

“It’s all about whether or not the elite will change. For Thailand, it depends on whether the military leader will change,” he said. “Unless they agree, the door to the transition to democracy can never be opened.”

 

But public opinion has the potential to play a major role in encouraging elites to change, said Surachat.

 

 “Without the pressure [from public opinion], they will never change,” he said.

 

The symposium reflected Thailand’s current situation after four years of military-led rule installed by a coup and a vague promise of an election. “Transition to democracy” is also the buzz term used by the junta as they promised to put the country in order and return it to democracy.

 

Most pro-democracy activists have called on the junta to hold an election as soon as possible and support scrapping the junta’s legacy, including the Constitution. But Siriphan has a different view about the transition.

 

Gradual change 

 

She said it was important for different people to find common ground. Sudden changes or scrapping the Constitution may not yield a good result, she said, but it could also make those on the right wing of politics feel they were losing power and this would make it impossible to have a consensus. Siriphan proposed that changes to the Constitution be done gradually. How long it takes before an election does not matter as much as what has been done during the interval, she said.

 

But the clock is ticking, she said. It has been over four years since Thailand has seen an election, while other countries facing the same political situation took an average of two years to return the power to the voters.

 

High-profile political scientist Anek Laothamatas, who has served on several reform committees under the junta, said he saw Thailand as an exception when it came to democracy. The country tends toward a hybrid approach to regimes featuring a constant alteration between civilian and military rule, said Anek, who is a leader of the pro-junta Action Coalition for Thailand Party that he co-founded with pro-junta politician Suthep Thaugsuban.

 

This see-sawing happens because Thai voters are not really loyal to any particular rule, he said, but instead pay more attention to the performance of the government. 

 

Occasionally, voters would miss the military when the government performed poorly. And it went the other way around, too, he said. 

Democracy was a grey zone because it was too rigid to follow the book written by westerners, Anek said. 

 

“It doesn’t fit us,” he said. “And I think it’s too ideological. And when we hold on too much to the ideology, it becomes a trap.”

Anek said that there was nothing wrong about reality not fitting the book. The book actually had to be written according to the reality, he said.

 

“So, I want us to be pragmatic in politics,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30348320

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-22

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

High-profile political scientist Anek Laothamatas, who has served on several reform committees under the junta, said he saw Thailand as an exception when it came to democracy.

What a load of BS from Suthep's paid mouth-piece.

 

There is no "Thai exception" to Democracy. The reason that Thailand has not seen Democracy take hold, develop and evolve here is that the ,military and the Elites prevent that from occurring in order to maintain their own set of privileges; am I the only one who notices that coups always seem to occur just when an election is about to happen that the Elites don't like?

 

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

Democracy was a grey zone because it was too rigid to follow the book written by westerners, Anek said. 

“It doesn’t fit us,” he said. “And I think it’s too ideological. And when we hold on too much to the ideology, it becomes a trap.”

Anek said that there was nothing wrong about reality not fitting the book. The book actually had to be written according to the reality, he said.

“So, I want us to be pragmatic in politics,” he said.

Again, more self-serving BS from Suthep's paid mouth-piece.

 

"...I want us to be pragmatic in politics..." is merely a way to say that he wants he and his fellow party members to maintain power without the bother of obtaining genuine consent from the general population as they would not receive that consent in a free and fair contest.

 

So, when in doubt, blame the Westerners; it is classic politics 101 to blame that which is different. 'Those white-skinned devils' are leading us on a dangerous path. We need to follow the 'Thai way' with ME and MY FRIENDS in charge to protect ourselves'.

 

In 2018, one would hope that the people would see through this kind of nonsense.

 

But, will they?

 

" the role of the political elites is one of the most important factors in moving a country from authoritarianism to democracy. "

 

Really ??

 

 

33 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

But, will they?

Nope, because they have had more than 70 years of BS

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Democracy was a grey zone because it was too rigid to follow the book written by westerners, Anek said. 

They just don't understand farangs………….. Welcome to troughocracy!

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Occasionally, voters would miss the military when the government performed poorly. And it went the other way around, too, he said. 

so in sum, thailand cannot find good governance either way

Not much hope in sight for Thai's and democracy. 

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

What a load of BS from Suthep's paid mouth-piece.

 

There is no "Thai exception" to Democracy. The reason that Thailand has not seen Democracy take hold, develop and evolve here is that the ,military and the Elites prevent that from occurring in order to maintain their own set of privileges; am I the only one who notices that coups always seem to occur just when an election is about to happen that the Elites don't like?

 

Again, more self-serving BS from Suthep's paid mouth-piece.

 

"...I want us to be pragmatic in politics..." is merely a way to say that he wants he and his fellow party members to maintain power without the bother of obtaining genuine consent from the general population as they would not receive that consent in a free and fair contest.

 

So, when in doubt, blame the Westerners; it is classic politics 101 to blame that which is different. 'Those white-skinned devils' are leading us on a dangerous path. We need to follow the 'Thai way' with ME and MY FRIENDS in charge to protect ourselves'.

 

In 2018, one would hope that the people would see through this kind of nonsense.

 

But, will they?

 

Your post is excellent, Samui Bodoh. 

Doesn't it make you feel sick to read words like these from the Suthep mouthpiece in the year 2018? Words which reek of protecting privilege and depriving the vast majority of their native rights to freedom?

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand as an exception when it came to democracy. The country tends toward a hybrid approach to regimes featuring a constant alteration between civilian and military rule

This reminds me of growing up on a farm. I could do just about anything I wanted to, as long as it was my dad's way.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Fellow political scientist Surachat Bamrungsuk agreed that changes were mostly the result of decisions made by the country’s leaders.

 

“It’s all about whether or not the elite will change. For Thailand, it depends on whether the military leader will change,” he said. “Unless they agree, the door to the transition to democracy can never be opened.”

He quite simply tells us that only if the elite allows democracy will it happen. It seems Thailand is doomed to only get what they permit and we can only assume that the elite co-opted the military into its numbers to get the guns needed to keep it that way. A very accurate portrayal of the last 80 years. 

I think the late Benedict Anderson describes Thai politics pretty well in this piece. 

https://newleftreview.org/II/97/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

These people repress Thailand...dangerous and inept!

 

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by ChrisY1

People like Anek are just repulsive. Failed in the private sector, failed in the public sector, he is only a self promoted scientist of any degree. He has zero redeeming features or skills other than self promotion and the only way people like him and Paiboon Nettiwat can stay relevant is by boot licking and grovelling to the military, it is their whole life and without it they would be nothing.

Thats a problem with a lot of Governments the Elitists !

That's rich.....

34 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

I think the late Benedict Anderson describes Thai politics pretty well in this piece. 

https://newleftreview.org/II/97/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

Excellent piece.....thanks.

55 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

I think the late Benedict Anderson describes Thai politics pretty well in this piece. 

https://newleftreview.org/II/97/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

Interesting article; thanks for posting it.

 

I think anyone who has studied Ben Anderson's work would agree that he was a brilliant guy, but would also understand that brilliant guys aren't always 100% correct, 100% of the time. 

 

My exposure to his work was greater than most; my thesis advisor had Ben Anderson as her thesis advisor, so needless to say his work featured prominently on my reading list! While I greatly respect his work, I often questioned his tendency to always see a community, everywhere. In fact, I used to say to my advisor that, despite BA, sometimes when two people went for a walk in a village it was because they simply wanted to stretch their legs rather than because they wanted to form a new community.

 

Are the Chinese-Thai roots a contributing factor in the 'Red' VS. 'Yellow' divide? Sure. Is it the overwhelming factor? I would agree that it is one of the factors, but to discount the long list of other contributing factors would be foolish. And, I am certain BA would agree...

 

 

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

'elites' and 'democracy'?  send him back to kindergarten to learn the basics

 Forget about democracy, The elite are the moral dregs and dross of society - far, far worse than any harmless beggar on the street. They are part of the power-wielders who ensure that fascism and oppression of the people continues and that there will always be beggars on the street and poverty up and down the length and breadth of the land, and the farmers are nothing but vassals.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

High-profile political scientist Anek Laothamatas, who has served on several reform committees under the junta, said he saw Thailand as an exception when it came to democracy. 

Anek failed to grasp the significant of a high election turnout averaging 74% which is higher than most mature democratic countries to serve his narrow narrative. Compare to only 59% turnout of the 2016 referendum for the military constitution. 

Sometimes a educated man is stupid.

And arrogant.

 

20 minutes ago, Anak Nakal said:

Sometimes a educated man is stupid.

And arrogant.

 

And selfish.

Self-serving claptrap, the translation for which is 'please allow us elites to hold our traditional power because we're awfully afraid that our time has come, and honest, we did it all for you'.

4 minutes ago, KiwiKiwi said:

Self-serving claptrap, the translation for which is 'please allow us elites to hold our traditional power because we're awfully afraid that our time has come, and honest, we did it all for you'.

Brilliant post, KiwiKiwi. You sum it up perfectly.

Political elites ‘are crucial to Thai democracy’ establishing a Thai plutocracy where the government and legislative bodies enacts laws to funnel the wealth of the nation to those 'elites' while the rest of the citizens are left with austerity and abject poverty or are lashed under the yoke of unpayable debt and a lifelong of debt servitude to the corporations, banks, and institutions run by the 'elite' -- so of course they need to run the show.

16 minutes ago, connda said:

Political elites ‘are crucial to Thai democracy’ establishing a Thai plutocracy where the government and legislative bodies enacts laws to funnel the wealth of the nation to those 'elites' while the rest of the citizens are left with austerity and abject poverty or are lashed under the yoke of unpayable debt and a lifelong of debt servitude to the corporations, banks, and institutions run by the 'elite' -- so of course they need to run the show.

 

And of course, they need their shill as a front-man to explain why having the rapacious and kleptocratic elites running things is actually good for the serfs.

 

They just got to know their place.

I thought Comical Ali died already, but he must just be hiding in Thailand. Bad propaganda is truly an art form.

It's like saying: 'Freedom of speech' is a pesky western thing unsuitable for Thais...

9 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

I think the late Benedict Anderson describes Thai politics pretty well in this piece. 

https://newleftreview.org/II/97/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

Chinese and Russians. Where I come from there's a saying "a Russian is a Russian even if you fry them in butter". Same applies to their Chinese neighbors. Imperialists that will never forget where they came from and will, even after decades of "assimilation", still root for their origin. Must be the old Genghis still in the DNA.

 

Contain and throw away the key .. ah I miss the 80's.

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by DrTuner
Typo

53 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Chinese and Russians. Where I come from there's a saying "a Russian is a Russian even if you fry them in butter". Same applies to their Chinese neighbors. Imperialists that will never forget where they came from and will, even after decades of "assimilation", still root for their origin. Must be the old Genghis still in the DNA.

 

Contain and throw away the key .. ah I miss the 80's.

 

'a Russian is a Russian even if you fry them in butter'

 

Oh I enjoyed that. Wonderful. Top of the class my friend.