Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has returned to Bangkok 17 months after being deposed in a military coup, repeatedly denying that he will reenter politics. But there are already clear signs that he has no intention of staying away from the limelight.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has returned to Bangkok 17 months after being deposed in a military coup. Thaksin has repeatedly denied that he intends to reenter politics, from which he has been barred for five years. But how realistic is it to expect so driven and flamboyant a man to stay away from the limelight?
Thaksin already is believed by many to be providing advice to the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Indeed, Samak’s People Power Party (PPP) is widely considered a proxy for Thaksin. It was, after all, formed from the remains of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which was disbanded after the coup.
Of course Thaksin’s political revival can’t get underway unless and until he has been acquitted of corruption charges. But he is likely to have made all the calculations related to the charges and other allegations before leaving London, and to have concluded that his chances of remaining free are high. After all, Thaksin is too serious a man to risk freedom for the sake of sentimentality.
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Rather than reducing concentrated market power through “disruption” or “creative destruction,” technological innovation historically has only added to the problem, by awarding monopolies to just one or a few dominant firms. And market forces offer no remedy to the problem; only public policy can provide that.
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The passing of America’s preeminent foreign-policy thinker and practitioner marks the end of an era. Throughout his long and extraordinarily influential career, Henry Kissinger built a legacy that Americans would be wise to heed in this new era of great-power politics and global disarray.
reviews the life and career of America’s preeminent foreign-policy scholar-practitioner.
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Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has returned to Bangkok 17 months after being deposed in a military coup. Thaksin has repeatedly denied that he intends to reenter politics, from which he has been barred for five years. But how realistic is it to expect so driven and flamboyant a man to stay away from the limelight?
Thaksin already is believed by many to be providing advice to the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Indeed, Samak’s People Power Party (PPP) is widely considered a proxy for Thaksin. It was, after all, formed from the remains of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which was disbanded after the coup.
Of course Thaksin’s political revival can’t get underway unless and until he has been acquitted of corruption charges. But he is likely to have made all the calculations related to the charges and other allegations before leaving London, and to have concluded that his chances of remaining free are high. After all, Thaksin is too serious a man to risk freedom for the sake of sentimentality.
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