Opinion
11 Sep 2023
After the May 2023 general election, the eight-party coalition led by the Move Forward Party signed an MOU to form a democratic government, but the document was revoked when Pheu Thai left the coalition along with the Prachachat Party, an influential party in the Deep South, to form a coalition with parties under strong military influence. Hara Shintaro writes on the impact of revoking the MOU on the peace process in the Deep South and the possibility of rebuilding trust in the process under the current political situation.
1 Sep 2023
With the breaking of the 8-party coalition under the Move Forward Party and the formation of a new government headed by Pheu Thai, questions have been raised about how the peace process will progress in Thailand's Deep South. Hara Shintaro writes about the prospects of peace in the Deep South under the new government.
19 Jun 2023
The Move Forward party emerges top of the poll in the 2023 general election with 151 seats. Although the breakthrough marks the beginning of a rocky transition to democratic politics after nearly a decade of militarized rule, Dulyaphab Chaturongkul asks if it will have to make compromises in the coming months and whether that should decide the fate of the democratic coalition.
9 May 2023
In convening the DRAPAC23 Assembly, EngageMedia envisions a space for changemakers to build and strengthen knowledge, collaborations, and momentum to advance the digital rights movement after over two years of virtual convenings and limited networking opportunities.
In this blog post, EngageMedia Executive Director Phet Sayo invites old and new allies in the digital rights space to join in the collaborative sense-making process and reflect on the lessons and challenges ahead in navigating the digital rights landscape.
13 Apr 2023
With the arrival of the Songkhran holiday comes concerns over road accident and traffic safety. However, Hugo Volkaert writes, the holidays are not why the yearly number of road accidents and casualties in Thailand are among the highest in the world. Design flaws in the road network is part of the problem.
15 Nov 2022
The summit meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) is right around the corner. 21 member states from across the Asia-Pacific region will gather together in the setting to discuss what lies ahead for their legally non-binding economic integration.
24 Oct 2022
Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, Chulalongkorn University's professor of political science, portrays an insightful outlook of how Thailand responded to Covid-19 from day one in parallel with many various pretexts and dimensions across the globe.
7 Oct 2022
As a young student and researcher who has witnessed political and social change, I am struck by how such changes affect memory. Here, I am specifically interested in the impact of disappearing cultural materials linked to the Thai democratic revolution of 1932. These include the People’s Party Plaque, the Constitution Protection Monument Guard, and a number of other public memory sites. Some have survived but in a modified form.
9 Sep 2022
There has always been a question whether liberalism’s claim to be “value neutral” amid differences and the diversity of ideas, religious beliefs, non-religious beliefs, and various cultures in democratic society is a just claim or not. This article will try to raise the case “marriage equality” as an example of the debate.
1. Why does the state need to enact a law to guarantee marriage equality?
6 Sep 2022
Last month, Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya population and others marked the fifth anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide Day, commemorating the Myanmar military’s brutal attacks on the Rohingya people on August 25, 2017.
File photo from Fortify Rights.
11 Aug 2022
It is time to put an end to the weaponising of surveillance technology — both globally and in Thailand. Thai authorities must immediately initiate an independent investigation to hold the perpetrators to account, and support calls for a global moratorium on spyware technology.
1 Aug 2022
As the free world starts to tilt its foreign policy towards the Indo Pacific region, there is no one better suited to become British Foreign Secretary than Tom Tugendhat.