Parliamentary elections in Thailand, July 2011

Since 2006, Thailand's politics has been polarised by intense divisions and violence to a point where, at various junctures, the government of the day was left paralysed. At the centre of Thailand's political tensions is the country's former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006. Thaksin came to power by capturing the support of Thailand's rural masses, especially from the north and northeast of the country, through his populist policies, but he was highly unpopular with segments of the urban middle class and in the south more generally. These are simplistic categorizations as some of the middle class do support Thaksin. However, the intricacies of the conflict are beyond the scope of this article and better explained elsewhere (Prasirtsuk, 2010). Political tensions have also manifested into the form of two mass movements: the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as "red shirts", a pro-Thaksin Shinwatra group with strong connections with the Pheu Thai Party; and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the "yellow shirts", a group formerly aligned with the Democrat Party.1 Depending on which side is in power, the two groups have taken turns in disrupting the functioning of the government of the day. The scale and level of organisation surpass those of any protests in the past. Communication outlets such as community radios, satellite TV, and text messaging have all played a role in these protests. "Phone-ins" or televised speeches have enabled Thaksin, who is currently in exile, to keep his presence very much alive amongst the red shirt supporters. The money, resources, power and influence available to both sides have contributed to prolonging Thailand's political crisis. As both sides are prepared to do almost anything to outdo the other, Thailand's political system has reached a point of stalemate.