<div>Junta Cheif General Prayuth Chan-ocha mentioned at least twice during his hour-long speech to launch the national reform process on Saturday that what the country needs is "Thai-style democracy".</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This leads to two questions: What is Thai-style democracy - and what is so Thai and democratic about it?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>While Prayuth did not elaborate on the differences between Thai-style democracy and the so-called Western democracies, the fact that he used the words "Thai-style democracy", and even added at one point that Asean needed its own form of dem </div>

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<p>The coup was staged on 22 May—it is the 19^th coup since Thailand abolished its absolute monarchy in 1932. While domestic pressure has been built up against the coup, international community has also kept a watchful eye on what has happened in Thailand.</p>

<p><em>The conservative establishment’s nigh decade-long putsch to turn back the progress of Thai democracy and the empowering advances it has made since late in the last century has backfired on them with epic irony. Their illiberal acts have been designed to demolish popular electoral democracy and return the nation to a state of corrupt and ineffective government open to easy exploitation by the traditional elite.</em></p>

<p>So how are we going to shut down the whole of Bangkok?</p> <p>It’s easy.&nbsp; Like Khun Suthep said, everyone will come out onto the streets and no one will be able to go anywhere, especially the Thaksin clique and corrupt politicians.</p> <p></p>

<p>Thailand’s Social Regimen – Thainess as an addictive substance.<br />The following is right off the keyboard and may be rambling a bit, but it’s sincere and hopefully worth reading through for reflection purposes. From time to time I wonder why I didn’t see a certain aspect of culture, my own or Thai, that is suddenly clear now, or why fellow expats are predicting certain things to follow form today’s political upheaval that just don’t have a chance of happening. But opening the mind and eyes is a continual process and hopefully this little piece will help that along…</p>

<div>Thailand has surprised the world again with the abrupt violence during the political protests at the beginning of December 2013 as pro- and anti-government protesters confronted each other on the streets leading to 5 deaths. </div>

<p>It is with great sadness that this column announces the death this week in Thailand of Khun Pracha Thipatai.&nbsp; Coming so soon after that of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, it is natural and informative to draw comparisons between the two lives.</p> <p></p>

<div>Someone said this is about grabbing power, not reform. I say this is anarchy and oligarchy, not democracy.</div> <p></p>

<p>It seems they have belatedly recognized that their message wasn’t getting across to a foreign audience.&nbsp; Talk of overthrowing a democratically elected government in order to create a democratic form of government wasn’t exactly the clearest of messages.&nbsp; So the newly mis-named Civil Movement for Democracy has decided to use one of its great strengths – the superior education of its supporters.</p> <p></p>

<div>About a thousand of anti-coup activists and anti-establishment red-shirts on Thursday commemorated the seventh anniversary of the symbolic suicide of a taxi driver against the 2006 coup d’état at two separate events in Bangkok.</div> <p></p>

<p>See video clips of '<em>Democracy and Crisis in Thailand</em>' conference held at Chulalongkorn University on 9 March, with noted speakers including Benedict Anderson, David Streckfuss, Thongchai Winichakul and Pavin Chachavalpongpun.</p>