Opposing Democracy in the Digital Age

Abstract

Preface xv allowing democratic rights to be curbed. Second, procedural democracyfair elections, real power for elected officials, and basic human and civil rights-is worth pursuing. By deterring the abuse of power, by allowing the exercise of popular sovereignty, and by making it easier for the disadvantaged to influence and benefit from public policy, democracy promotes the free development of human capabilities. The third conviction is that social structures, historical legacies, and political arrangements can be changed by acts of human will. Political choices matter, and they will matter even more if those who make them understand the opportunities and constraints their predecessors have faced. A grasp of these opportunities and constraints can help such actors identify, and thus more easily overcome, obstacles that otherwise overwhelm them.While this book examines the emergence and development of the PAD and the PDRC movements between 2005 to 2014, its implications remain relevant to understanding the future of democratic politics in this Southeast Asian country. The contribution of this empirical work will not only help us to understand why democracy collapses, but it also lends insights into the flaws of democratic regimes more generally.The failure of democracy in Thailand, despite decades of trial and error, provides some key lessons to newly democratizing states and warns us that institutionalizing procedural forms of democracy provides no guarantee for democratic survival. Extraconstitutional institutions ought not to be strong enough that they compete for political legitimacy with democratic institutions. In the Thai case, both the military and the monarchy have been institutionalized as powerful sources of authority and legitimacy both in politics and society to remain crucial power brokers in Thai politics. It is not that democracy cannot thrive as long as the monarchy and the military remain on stage. More problematic is that their authority is able to contend with that of democratic institutions. In the digital age of politics, we also cannot expect tools like social media to democratize us if we do not believe in democracy ourselves. PART I* World Bank, GNI PPP per capita (current International) Note: "Successful coups" refers to ones that result in a regime change and transfer of power.

Democracy Crisis in South-East Asia: Media Control, Censorship, and Disinformation during the 2019 Presidential and General Elections in Indonesia, Thailand and 2019 Local Election in the Philippines

“…From 1973 to the end of 1980, Thai politics saw the repressive government of Thanin Kraivichien with his anti-communist policy and the junta government that overthrew Kraivichien because to repressive also for the army (Neher, 1992). At the end of 1980, a light of hope was glimpsed for the democratization of the country; however, with the coup d'état in 1991, Thailand fell back again into a period of repression under the military dictatorship (Neher, 1995;Maisrikrod, 1993;Paribatra, 1993), resulting in one of the largest protests against the military regime, led by General Suchinda Kraprayoon, known as the Black May Uprising (Sinpeng, 2021). The protest opened the way for democratization in the country (Neher 1995), democratization that was consolidated in the 1997 constitution, the "People's Constitution" (Dressel, 2009), considered the freest and good for the government (Sinpeng, 2021).…”

“…In the same year emerged the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which will have an important role in supporting the military rule and monarchy, and the fall of Shinawatra will be exiled (Sinpeng, 2021;Phongpaichit & Bakerand, 2008) after the coup d'etat in 2006 and the suspension of the Constitution of 1997.…”

“…Social media had an important role in Thai politics especially for the movement and mobilization (Sinpeng, 2021) of the information, in both pro-military and pro-Thaksin (Nyblade, et al, 2015). Moreover, Thailand has seen faster growth in ICT and one of the majority users of Facebook after Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam (Statista, 2019).…”

“…During the PAD movement protest, social media did not already rise in the country (Sinpeng, 2021), however, it was during the conflict between the PAD and the movement pro-Shinawatra that the internet and cyber troops started to rule in Thailand politics (Sombatpoonsiri, 2018), for spreading information pro-monarchy (and military). The protests and the rise of cyber troops are factors that slow down the democratic transition in the country.…”

“…In "Opposing Democracy in the Digital Age: yellow shirts in Thailand'', (Sinpeng, 2021) analyzes how the yellow shirt or PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) has had a crucial role in suppressing democracy through social media, supporting the junta at the government. Also important is the role that social media played in favoring the advancement of the Future Forward Party, as demonstrated in House on NET freedom (Freedom House, 2020), those countries are classified as partly free (Indonesia and Philippines) and not free (Thailand).…”