Joshua Kurlantzick says, "... Thailand, once a poster child for democratization in the developing world, has undergone perhaps the most rapid and severest democratic regression in the entire world."
Joshua Kurlantzick and Elizabeth Leader discuss how the newest threats to expression and access on the Internet are not coming from authoritarian states, but instead from somewhere more surprising: electoral democracies like Thailand, Turkey, and South Korea.
Joshua Kurlantzick says the election victory by the party of Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, puts Thailand's already wobbly democracy at greater risk.
Thailand's general elections in July could mark a crucial step toward reconciliation but are likely to fuel further resentments that have roiled the country and eroded regional stability, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.
In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick analyzes Thailand's democratic failure and offers lessons from the Thai experience for new governments and reformers in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Vejjajiva of Thailand speaks about the Thai demonstrations that took place this past year in April and May, as well as the status of elections.
Joshua Kurlantzick argues that Thailand is merely one example in the developing world of a struggle for political freedom creating divisions between the middle classes and the poor.
The escalating standoff between Thai government troops and red shirt protesters reflects a fundamental shift in Thai politics and a weak government, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.
Joshua Kurlantzick, CFR's fellow for Southeast Asia, discusses the civil and political unrest in Thailand as a cause for near-term pessimism and economic instability in the region in this CFR Media Conference Call.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects.