Knowledge-Net for a Better World August 2019   Populism in Thailand Working Paper Series (Populism in Asia) Thawilwadee Bureekul, Director of the Research and Development Office        at King Prajadhipok’s Institute Ratchawadee Sangmahamad, Researcher at King Prajadhipok’s Institute Nuchaprapa Moksat, Researcher at King Prajadhipok’s Institute   "The Political Cycle of Policy Populism and Government Dependency in Thailand" With an increase in dissatisfaction of liberal democratic systems around the world, populism has taken the center stage in all facets of life, especially in the discourse of politics and governance. In order to address this global issue, the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) has been conducting research on populism based on country cases since 2017. ADRN was established by the East Asia Institute (EAI) in 2013 with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to strengthen civil society in Asia and promote democratic norms and values. As part of ADRN research project, EAI has planned a special working papers series. This series is composed of six working papers, and the publication schedules is as follows: 1) South Korea’s Tamed Populism: Popular Protests From Below and Populist Politics from the Top (Issue on 2nd July 2019) 2) Populism in Taiwan: a Bottom-up Model (Issue on 9th July 2019) 3) Contemporary Populism and Democratic Challenges in the Philippines (Issue on 16th July 2019) 4) The Changing Nature of Populism in Malaysia (Issue on 23rd July 2019) 5) Populism in Contemporary Indian Politics (Issue on 30th July 2019) 6) Populism in Thailand (Issue on 6th August 2019) For the sixth publication of the ADRN special working paper series, Dr. Thawilwadeee Bureekul, Ms. Ratchawadee Sangmahamad, and Ms. Nuchaprapar Moksart of the King Prajadhipok's Institute explore the populist phenomena in Thailand. According to the authors, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (in 2001) has been instrumental in establishing populism through policy within Thai politics since the adoption of the 1997 Constitution. Despite the military coups that ensued the Thaksin administration, policy populism continued to provide benefits to the poor and help maintain public trust in the government. However, the authors argue that this kind of populism calls for a "checks and balances by non-governmental organizations [...] to ensure accountability in the implementation process." Given that redistributive policies have the potential of fiscal mismanagement and corruption, they suggest that the "function of laws and regulations should be considered" and the new measures following the 2017 Constitution be strictly enforced.    Recent Publications Working Paper | Populism in Contemporary Indian Politics Working Paper | The Changing Nature of Populism in Malaysia Working Paper | Contemporary Populism and Democratic Challenges in the Philippines     #909 Sampoong B/D, 158, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, 04548, Republic of Korea Tel 82 2 2277 1683  |  Fax 82 2 2277 1684 | Email EAI Copyright 2019 © EAST ASIA INSTITUTE. All Rights Reserved.