http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30365119
I was interviewed and quoted in The Nation , with respect to the 2019 Thai Election Campaign:
This time around, though, many other parties are also embracing populist policies.
The main message candidates have been delivering to voters has not changed much, with many parties’ political discourses still “trapped” in either the fight for democracy or populist policies, said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University.
The Democrat and Future Forward parties are leaning towards populism, while the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat is disguising its policies under the theme of “reconciliation”, he said.
“But in reality, these discourses do not reflect any changes in Thai politics,” he said.
For instance, he said, the Democrat and Future Forward parties are offering a welfare state but have yet to show how it will be sustainable or if recipients would be self-reliant.
Phalang Pracharat Party is relying on the reconciliation discourse to explain why the military is still necessary to maintain order. It doesn’t understand true democracy, Titipol said.
The political discourse used by pro-junta parties is undermining the progress of Thai democracy, he added.
However, he said, though the election is not expected to bring massive change to society, it will at least encourage voters to pay more attention to democracy.
“I think this election is more like a referendum on democracy or an indicator of how desperately Thai voters want democracy, rather than actually returning to true democracy. What we will have is just pseudo-democracy,” he said. “This election is being held just so that Thailand can be a part of international democracy. Otherwise it will be difficult for it to promote its economic policies internationally.”
Titipol, who lectures on political communication, said the most important concern was not about what politicians convey to voters, but rather voters being open to two-sided information.
“It doesn’t matter who you support, but you should make time to listen to all opinions so you can make a good decision,” he said.
