Thailand’s Legitimacy Conflict between the Red Shirt Protesters and the Abhisit Government: Aspects of a Complex Political Struggle

Abstract

The recent deadly mass protests in Bangkok signified a conflict between a stream of struggle against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and a counter­stream that developed in opposition to the 2006 military coup. The article sketches elements of the first stream, and outlines five dimensions of the second: the similarity of the 1992 and 2010 protests, the role of Thaksin, the shape of Thai democracy, the red shirts as politicized mass movement, and elements of the protest action. Thai politics remain uncertain and volatile. Factors include the continuing protest potential, the strengthened role of the military, the succession issue, and the consequences of future elections.