The question as to what dictates the relationships and conflicts between the different political parties in Thailand is an intriguing one. While some may believe that the underlying influence is ambition, there is more substance to the argument that it is in fact political principles, personal loyalty, family alliance and, most importantly, political paranoia, which dictate Thai politics. The paranoia arises from a mutual distrust and fear that a fellow Thai member of the resistance may have some hidden agenda that is incompatible and in conflict with their own. This sense of paranoia is apparent in both the way in which Pramoj was hesitant to accept Kunjara and the way the American Free Thais and pro-constitution NLM were suspicious of the Prince Subha-Svasti-led FSM and their potential motive to return Thailand to an absolute monarchy system. At a glance, Prince Subha Svasti as a natural leader for the Free Siamese movement and one that facilitated the emergence of the movement in the UK. A true patriot, he was quick to oppose the Japanese when they invaded Thailand and attacked th...
The aim of this book by Bui Diem with David Chanoff is to present the Vietnam War told from a South Vietnamese perspective. The large-scale scope of the work concerns the fighting between North and South Vietnam over which party would run the country and wanting to become an independent state free from the Western powers. Diem's memoir contains in-depth details about his life and politics in Vietnam in 1940-1975. The book serves as a primary source in documenting the events in Vietnam during the war and as an autobiography of Diem's life. The purpose of this book is to give insight of the war through Diem's eyes and how it affected his life.
Imagery and politics are two closely related concepts. “Politics will eventually be replaced by imagery. The politician will be only too happy to abdicate in favor of his image, because the image will be much more powerful than he could ever be” (McLuhan, 1971). The image has the power to make or break the politician. The impact of imagery also applies to the Government as a whole. The image created by the government influences the support of the population; because of this correlation, information regarding government affairs goes through filters; information that could negatively impact the image of the government may not be provided to the public depending on how important it may be for the general population to know. In the beginning of the Vietnam War, Laos was declared a neutral zone at a conference in Geneva by the United States and the Soviet Union (Jones, 2007). As the disputes about Laos’ future government structure continued, the United States believed it was time to take action and continue their fight against communism (Young; Buzzanco, 2006). The Americans were fighting the Cold War for the containment of communism and to make the world safe for democracy. If Laos became a communist country, communism would not be contained; this led to the Secret War. American officials did everything in their power to keep the information regarding the Secret War in Laos hidden. The prime reason for failing to acknowledge the public of the happenings in Laos, was to aid the government in the protection of their image. Many American citizens were against the government because of the war in Vietnam, which had started 10 years prior to the Secret War; knowing about Laos would give the general population more reason to protest. Furthe...
Throughout the years 1975-1979 the Communist Khmer Rouge Regime party held control of the Cambodia and instituted the Angkar government system. In this system evolution and change was frowned upon. Intellectuals like students, teachers, monks, government officials, military workers, etc were considered corrupt. In the eyes of the Angkar, a model citizen was a peasant farmer who lived in the countryside and did not own any type of technology or possess any Western influence. Intellectuals (i.e. people who lived in cities like Phnom Penh) were forced to evacuate their homes and move into villages in the countryside. These villages were controlled by village chiefs and soldiers from the Khmer Rouge regime. The new villagers were forced to work long hours in the rice fields and the community gardens with
Prak, K, B, & Schuette, S. (2007). Gender and Women in politics in Cambodia. Henrich Boll
At least every Asian country with a Buddhist community has experience some sort of civil war, foreign invasion, or systematic poverty and tyranny. During the Khmer Rouge era, Buddhism was nearly destroyed. Monks were tortured, killed and forced into lay life. Buddhist temples were destroyed and used as a prison area. After the defeat of the Khmer Rouge, Buddhism remained repressed within Cambodia. Some Buddhist monks or leaders responded with forms of social engagement. That being said, Maha Ghosananda is one the monks who played a key role in rebuilding Buddhism in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. His work, Dhammayietras was the first program to set up for peace and non-violence in Cambodia. The Dhammayietras consisted of peace walks through war-torn, landmine-infested regions. This non-violence and social action is considered to be “engaged Buddhism.” The idea of “engaged Buddhism” places an emphasis on the need for compassion for compassionate action is rooted in the Buddhist practice. Ghosananda activism rebuilt Buddhism in Cambodia by teaching peace through example. T...
“The Tay Son Revolt, led by three brothers and who overran North Vietnam from the years of 1786-87, these brothers altered the 18th-century Vietnamese political and social landscape.” (Dutton 2006) The Tyson brothers led an independent military force that ejected ruling families and divided Vietnamese territories then collapsed a 350-year-old Le Dynasty. This paper will talk about an event that affected every region of the country and every level of society. The Tay Son brothers were leaders of a revolution in 1771 that was initially local but then became a national movement known as the Tay Son Rebellion.
The Vietnamese people’s movement was very well coordinated during the Pacification period. The rebellion was not only led by court mandarins, but also by private scholars. The moral and military power of some of the rebel ...
Indochina, modernly known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located on the border of the eastern Indochinese peninsula and it occupies, according to the online encyclopedia (encyclopedia.com), about 331,000 kilometers squared, where in 1987, 25% of that land was under cultivation. Vietnam is bordered by the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and Gulf of Tonkin; and it is alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital since the nation’s reunification, is located in the northeast; and Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is located in the southeast of Vietnam. However, before becoming independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, Vietnam’s capital was “Đại La”, where it was located in present-day Hanoi. Additionally, the northern part of Vietnam is mainly composed of highlands and the Red River Delta; and the southern part of Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, large forests, and mountains of the “Annamite Range”. Vietnam’s official language is Vietnamese, and their largest ethnic group in Vietnam is the Kinh people, which takes about 86% of the nation’s population.
...country to change: the King. He invites the “imperialistic” teacher to teach his eldest son. Why? In the letter confirming Anna’s employment, the King says that he wanted Siam “to take its place among the nations of the modern world.” As a man and as a king, he acts very carefully. He wants to ensure that in his country “no man is above the law.” He does not make any extraordinary changes, but he allows Anna to teach his children anything she wants (he knows Anna’s liberal position). His decision determines the future of Siam: his son abolishes slavery, institutes religious freedom and reforms the judicial system.
Haskell, J. (n.d.). Racial Politics, Power, and Dominant Party Autocracy in Malaysia. Retrieved from http://sjir.stanford.edu/6.1.07_haskell.html
Laos is considered one of the poorest countries in the world however it has not experience the problem of famine, debt and slum that are associated with many third world and developing countries. Approximately 80% of the Laos population lives in rural areas with the remaining population residing within Laos’s capital city of Vientiane and a few other capital provinces (Laos Cultural Profiles, 2009). In these urban areas of Laos, there are markets and administrative centers of trade and communication.
The relationship and cooperation in handling the issue in Southern Thailand between Malaysia and Thailand government since a long time ago, has become disappointed, frustration and unsatisfied. This is might be best description that has been looked up since the working relations between past Thai governments and their Malaysian counterparts was comes to Southern Thailand (Thanet, 2013). For the Thailand government, cooperation with the Malaysian authorities is really needed while in dealing with the separatist insurgents that often to the slip across the porous border from Thailand. Meanwhile, for the Malaysian side, through the sharing of same ethnicity and Islamic religion in the Southern Thai Muslims, was means that their politicians ought to have a key role to play in understanding and resolving insurgency issues in Southern Thailand. Therefore, it might can be seem in logically think that, without the help by the Malaysian government, the issues that regards to Muslim separatist moments in the Deep South would be difficul...
... in exile, his effect on the Thai Politics and Thailand itself is immense in a very negative way even until today with the people protesting to either bring him back or the anti-Thaksin who wants him to remain in exile. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, is the current prime minister of Thailand, and critics of her states that she is just a proxy for her brother. At first, Yingluck was fine, she made very few mistakes, and the government functioned just fine. However, later she started to get hated because of her attempt to erase evidence of Thaksin’s corruption so that he could come back to Thailand and some other mistakes that she made along the way. Nowadays there are constant protests going on in Thailand and there are people dying consistently. Thaksin is the reason why all of this is happening and it is Thaksin’s fault of keeping Thailand away from peace.
It states: “everyone who had no share in seizing the power of government … ought to remain quietly at home.” Obviously, this has implications on how the intended political climate of Siam would function under the People’s Party. Given their wording, it is clear that the intention is for a small group of people to have political knowledge and influence. Despite their promise to involve more people in the political process, it is clear that this is not intended to be unrestrained, and the implication is that select people only are going to maintain power. Arjun Subrahmanyan refers to this as democratic paternalism. He explains this by saying that the party “restricted the political role and responsibility of ordinary people whom the party regarded as naive.” In other words, the People’s Party clearly intends to give power to a select few party members. The rest of the Thai population will have no more say with the new government than they did with the