SJS7 - People Power Sours: Uncivil Society in Thailand and the Phillipines

Source: Thompson, Mark R.. "People Power Soura: Uncivil Society in Thailand and the Phillipines." Current History Vol. 107 No. 712. Novembet 2008. 381-7.

Author Credentials: Mark R. Thompson, the author of this article, is a professor of political science in a German university called Erlangen Nuremberg. He has put much of his focus on Southeast Asia, making him very knowledgeable on the area and qualified to write this article.

Summary: The main problem adressed in the article is the relationship between the elites, who direct their power against populist officials, and ordinary people, who elect them. The author indicates that historical assimilation of foreigners has allowed both the Phillipines and Thailand to develop a strong working class willing to vote for these causes. Out of this rose elites known as the "Sino-Thai", who, through control of trade, started to gain enough money to comfortably fund political parties. These elites have tried to appeal to the bourgeoisie, claiming that they support officials based on merit and not money. More recently, populism rose again in these countries. The working class dominated elections, frustrating elites. The elites, however, desperately and relentlessly appealed to the working class, and it eventually began to work in the early 2001s again. A little later, corruption and scandals from elite-favored officials led to many protests in Thailand. Military coups ensued, and succeeded. With power back in the peoples' hands, few reforms have been made that benefit the elites. In general, this has led to a new political age for these countries. Most political parties want massive reforms to their legislation. Ultimately, though, the rejection of populism by elites has led to many of the issues faced in Thailand and the Phillipines.

Analysis: The author did a very good job of pointing out key events as political turning points, which made reading the article a lot easier. On the flipside, a few of these points either became too specific or redundant, as the entire article can be boiled down to 1 or 2 phrases. Towards the end there are a few random sentences regarding religion and society, but these can be ignored for an otherwise very solid article. The author did a good job of making references to how events like these have occured throughout history around the world, leading to a thorough, while still easy to read article, evaluating a crucial relationship in Southeast Asian society.