Essay On Democracy In Thailand

Thailand is a prosperous nation with strong banks, modern factories, flourishing tourism, a growing middle class and other typical points of a successful democracy. Which is exactly what it lacks. Thailand has had so many coups in its modern history that scholars sometimes refer to the last eight decades as its “coup season.” The latest round featured deadly street clashes, politically tainted corruption trials and the army taking control after an election derailed by protests. Two years on, the junta is still in charge and there’s no date yet for new elections. The kind of democracy that will guarantee a good quality life would be the ones that all the government power is given unto the citizen to exercise. While the kind of democracy that should be emphasized in Thai society should be coping with the inequality gap between the peasants and elites and the weak rules of law which brought in corruptions.
Democracy is a government in which power and responsibility are

The huge income gap between rich and poor shapes Thai society into a pyramid structure. As a result, the relatively poor “Red Shirts” faction represents a 70% majority in the general population. Meanwhile, the “Yellow Shirts” protesting in the streets against the “Red Shirts” represents the 30% minority who are the upper middle class, urban shopkeepers and wealthy elite. Therefore, based on the one-person-one-vote principle, it is no surprise that the popular Pheu Thai Party won every free election since 2001. This then created false democracy, where the government only serves what the majority or the red fancy where in reality they should also consider the minority beliefs. The government would change rules and regulations to benefit themselves claiming that they have the right of mandate from the public and ignore what the minority has to say leading to parliamentary dictatorship which will slowly distort the idea of democracy. Thai