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Thaksin
The Business of Politics in Thailand
by Pasuk Phongpaichit & Chris Baker
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312 pp., illustrations, charts & maps Studies in Contemporary Asian History # 5 Available from NIAS Press worldwide |
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.
Press news
- Jan. 24 2012
Apparently, the hot travel destinations this year are Uganda and Burma – at least according to Lonely Planet aficionados. If true, then sales of a recent NIAS Press book – listed as recommended reading in the latest edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Myanmar/Burma – might be about to explode (or maybe not, given its subject matter).
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