Thaksin

The Business of Politics in Thailand

by Pasuk Phongpaichit & Chris Baker

Pasuk_thaksin.jpg
 312 pp., illustrations, charts & maps
Studies in Contemporary Asian History # 5
Available from NIAS Press worldwide



Paperback - 2004, Available
ISBN 978 87 91114 78 6, £15.99


Thaksin Shinawatra has often been compared to Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. Both are fabulously wealthy media magnates who have entered politics. And both have a possessive passion for football. Berlusconi owns Forza Milan and – as many of its fans noted with mixed feelings – Thaksin narrowly failed to acquire a 30% stake in Liverpool.

But there is more to Thaksin than football. He became Thailand’s prime minister in early 2001 following a landslide election victory in which he promised to “think new, act new” to transform the country’s economy and politics. Since then, Thaksin has been highly popular but also highly controversial. Two long-standing observers have described him as “the best prime minister Thailand has ever had” and “another grubby businessman.”

This book is the first serious study of Thaksin in English. It examines where he came from and what he was (and still is) trying to do.

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    Jun. 16 2010

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