The danger is not collapse. The danger is normalization of stagnation. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Thailand is running out of excuses that even it finds convincing. For years, underperformance could be blamed on bad luck: a weak global cycle, a shock to tourism, a pandemic, an export slowdown. Or it could be framed as a politics problem that would eventually ...
Vision Needed to Avert Stagnation By Mehmet Enes Beşer Thai education, once foreseen to be the engine of social mobility and modernization of its economy, now stands in danger of stagnating in the long term. In spite of two decades of a sequence of reforms—be it curriculum reform, decentralization, or incorporation of information technologies—the outcomes of student learning, equity, and ...
Beyond Trade Policy By Mehmet Enes Beşer Thailand’s economic progress in the past half-century has followed a predictable trajectory: a gradual drift out of agriculture as the major source of employment and GDP toward industrialization and services. The trend is characteristic of what has been seen throughout the Global South. Though, unlike most industrialized economies who finished this journey decades ...
Labor Mobility and Domestic Investment By Mehmet Enes Beşer Thailand’s recurrent economic growth in previous decades has too often been explained by its performance of exports, locational advantages in the supply chain, and resilience of the tourism sector. Whereas these sectors have undoubtedly had large roles to play, they get most of the public’s notice at the expense of more ...
Thailand has a decision to make. By Mehmet Enes Beşer For decades, Thailand’s economic self has been synonymous with turquoise waters, golden shrines, and night bazaars that glow. Tourism has been the crown jewel and crutch of Thailand’s GDP for decades, accounting for up to 20% of the economy in high-season years. But with the post-pandemic world—and ever-intensifying global trends ...
Thailand must think regional and global. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Thailand is reentering the semiconductors game with a newfound sense of purpose. In an era of tech nationalism, supply chain reboot, and mounting pervasiveness of microelectronics everywhere from automobiles to artificial intelligence, Bangkok proclaimed that it aims to be a serious player. With incentives for foreign investment, incentives for domestic ...
By Mehmet Alemdar The general elections to be held on 14 May 2023 in Thailand are of great importance for the “Asian Age”. Before commenting on the elections, it would be useful to briefly summarize the political system in Thailand. Thailand is a unitary state governed by a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. The 1932 Siamese Revolution transformed Siam (Thailand) ...
Protests in Thailand Thousands of people protested in the Thai capital Bangkok, calling for reform of the political system. The protester’s anger is primarily focused on the country’s monarchy. According to the police, it was one of the largest protests in recent years, attended by at least 15,000 people (the participants themselves say it is closer to 50,000 people). The ...
Protests in Belarus Post-election protests in Belarus became the focus of international organizations, politicians and the media. Several serious clashes between the demonstrators and the police were reported. On Sunday, a rally of thousands of opponents of the current Belarusian authorities took place in Minsk; the event was not coordinated with the city authorities. Participants of the rally held protest ...
Despite its geographical proximity to China, which became the center of the new coronavirus’ spread in early 2020. The virus spread slowly in the region for the first two months of the year, but there has been explosive growth in cases since mid-March. Thailand: royal isolation In October 2019, Thailand was ranked sixth by the WHO in terms of preparedness ...