Thailand Unhinged: Unraveling the Myth of a Thai-Style Democracy offers a trenchant analysis of Thai politics and society over the tumultuous years that followed the ouster of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thailand's ongoing political crisis is explained through the prism of the country's painful post-absolutist history – a history marred by the systematic sabotage of any meaningful democratic development, the routine hijacking of democratic institutions, and the continued suffocation of the Thai people's democratic aspirations orchestrated by an unelected ruling class in an increasingly desperate attempt to hold on to its power.
The book includes scathing critiques of both Thaksin's administration as well as the military-backed government that came to power in late 2008, following the week-long siege of the country's busiest airports staged by the "yellow shirts" of the People's Alliance for Democracy. The essays are written in a provocative, confrontational style – making
Thailand Unhinged a decidedly unconventional mix of academic scholarship, literary journalism, and radical pamphleteering.
About the AuthorFEDERICO FERRARA is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore and will join the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong later this year. Federico holds a PhD in Political Science from Harvard University (2008). His research focuses on issues broadly related to democratization, electoral politics, and domestic political conflict in non-Western societies; previous writings have appeared in top academic journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Electoral Studies as well as the book
Mixed Electoral Systems published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2005. Federico has spent over a year in Thailand, where he returns often to conduct archival research and study the Thai language. His blog
Khi Kwai (buffalo dung) is a popular English-language blog on Thai politics and society.
| ISBN: |
978-979-3780-76-4 |
| Author: |
Federico Ferrara |
| Pages: |
152 |
| Format: |
Softcover |
| Size (Inches) |
6x9" |
| Weight (LBS) |
1.00 |
| Publication Year: |
2010 |
$16.95
