The Guardian: King's sacking of consort highlights power of Thai monarchy

While Sineenat was the first officially named consort to a Thai king since the 1920s, she was not the first woman in Vajiralongkorn’s life to lose her position. In 2014 he stripped Srirasmi Akrapongpreecha, his third wife, of most of her titles and had members of her family arrested. His second wife, Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, fled to the US after Vajiralongkorn denounced her in 1996 and disowned their four sons. [...]

Sineenat’s appointment on 28 July this year made Vajiralongkorn the first Thai monarch since King Rama VI, who ruled from 1910 to 1925, to publicly acknowledge multiple female companions. Her consort ceremony was followed by the palace releasing images of her piloting a military plane and shooting a gun. Such images previously had been reserved for the king’s close relatives, and they resembled the military-style photos of Queen Suthida released for her birthday. [...]

Vajiralongkorn’s power shows no sign of abating and he has proved to be an assertive constitutional monarch. His face peers from shrines and billboard advertisements in Bangkok, the latter placed by companies declaring loyalty. A schmaltzy video montage of the king growing up, featuring images of members of the public crawling at his feet, plays in cinemas before film screenings. Audience members are compelled to stand for it.

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Council on Foreign Relations: The Military Wins Big in Thailand

Prayuth’s victory was all but guaranteed. The military and its allies made certain of that by announcing criminal charges against opposition leaders and overseeing an unusual interpretation of electoral laws that helped the pro-military party gain the most seats possible. Prayuth essentially remains in power, with the military firmly behind him, and his unwieldy coalition will likely now have more than the 250 seats needed in the lower house to pass legislation.

But the parliamentary vote does not indicate overwhelming popular support for the military and its main party, Palang Pracharath. To be sure, Palang Pracharath earned the most votes of any one party during the March election, but the anti-junta opposition coalition earned more votes overall. It probably would have won more than 250 seats in the lower house, if not for the Thai election commission’s dubious reading of electoral laws. [...]

Now Prayuth, who is thin-skinned in dealing with public criticism, will have to operate in a more politically open environment. Before the vote for prime minister, he declined to present a platform of any kind. And in parliament, the unified opposition—convinced that the election was stolen from them—will likely work to stymie Prayuth, defeat legislation, and try to investigate the military. With Prayuth facing challenges from parliament, it is not inconceivable that the military could stage another coup and retake total control of politics.

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Quartz: Photos: Thai king Maha Vajiralongkorn is crowned

King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been officially crowned as Thailand’s monarch amid Buddhist and Hindu prayers and pageantry costing over $30 million.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, also known as king Rama X, succeeded his father upon the latter’s death in October 2016. But the coronation was delayed by a year of mourning and a suitable span of time from the late king Bhumibol Adulyadej’s funeral in 2017. Today’s coronation was the country’s first in nearly seven decades.

The coronation celebrations span several days and include a royal procession on Sunday, for which rehearsals have been underway in the capital during the week. The ceremonies were preceded by Thailand unexpectedly getting a queen after Vajiralongkorn married the deputy head of his person guard force on Wednesday (May 1), making her Queen Suthida.

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openDemocracy: Lessons on building democracy after nonviolent revolutions

What explains these differences? Why do some nonviolent revolutions end in democracy while others do not? And is nonviolent resistance really that much of a factor in promoting democracy in the first place? These are the questions that I examine in a new monograph from ICNC press: When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy after Nonviolent Uprisings. The monograph builds on statistical research into 78 political transitions initiated by nonviolent resistance from 1945 to 2011, as well as interviews and in-depth examination of three particular transitions: Brazil’s transition away from military rule in the 1980s, Zambia’s transition away from single party rule in the 1990s, and Nepal’s transition away from monarchy in the 2000s. It focuses first on building our understanding of these questions using the best tools of social science research, and second on generating practical lessons that activists, political leaders and external actors interested in helping promote democracy after nonviolent revolutions can apply to their own situations.

The first major takeaway from the research is that nonviolent resistance does encourage democratic progress, even in very unfavorable circumstances. Out of the 78 political transitions initiated by nonviolent resistance, 60 ended with at least a minimal level of democracy. This is a much higher proportion than political transitions initiated through any other means. This strengthens the findings of earlier research that found that nonviolent resistance led to more democracy than violent resistance. [...]

The third lesson is to build and maintain a positive vision of the future. Pro-democracy movements often focus on negative goals to mobilize people against dictators. It can be easier to unite a diverse coalition around getting rid of a particularly hated leader, rather than having hard conversations about what the future will look like once the leader is gone. But having those hard conversations is crucial because, once the hated leader or regime is gone, people need a reason to continue to engage in activism. [...]

The third lesson is to not shut out everyone from the old regime. Accountability for past crimes, particularly grievous human rights abuses, is central to any meaningful democratic tradition. But often the focus in political transitions moves beyond accountability to punishment and vindictiveness towards all those associated with the old regime. This creates a whole class of political players who have political skills but now no way of exercising them, and no reason to buy into the new democratic politics. They can thus often turn into a potent force seeking to undermine new democratic politics and preventing the creation of new institutions.

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The Atlantic: Photos: The 15 Tallest Statues in the World

With the unveiling of the Statue of Unity in India today, there is a new name topping the list of the tallest statues in the world. The new monument to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stands 597 feet (182 meters) tall, overtaking the previous record holder, the 420-foot (128-meter) Spring Temple Buddha, in China’s Lushan County. Using Wikipedia’s standard of measuring to “the highest part of the human (or animal) figure, but excluding the height of any pedestal,” we present images below of the 15 tallest statues in the world as of today, plus five bonus photos of some more famous—if smaller—colossal monuments.

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IFLScience: Nepal's Tiger Population Doubles Thanks To Dedicated Conservation Work

Once found throughout the Asian continent and several Asian islands, tigers (Panthera tigris) have been wiped out of existence in many regions and are endangered in all their remaining pockets of habitat due to human activities, chiefly deforestation for agriculture and urbanization (more than 40 percent of native tiger ecosystems have been destroyed in the past 20 years alone), depletion of prey species, and poaching.

Per the IUCN Red List, tigers have disappeared from Java, Bali, southwest and central Asia, and from large areas of southeast and eastern Asia over the past 100 years. Currently, tigers inhabit about 7 percent of their former range, with evidence of breeding populations in Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand, and potentially China and Myanmar. It is estimated that there were around 100,000 tigers in the wild in the early 1900s; now there are around 3,200 tigers – a figure that encompasses all subspecies.

Nepal’s success provides a model of how other nations can fulfill their pledge to meet the goal of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s TX2 project. Launched at the WWF’s 2010 Tiger Summit, TX2 is an ambitious research, conservation, and anti-poaching project aimed at doubling the total tiger population to 6,000 individuals by 2022 – the next Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac. Nepal and 12 other nations within the species’ range have committed to the plan.

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Deutsche Welle: Thailand ends year of mourning King Bhumibol with cremation

On Thursday evening in a $90 million (€76 million) ceremony, King Bhumibol's subjects will express their devotion in central Bangkok as they witness what they believe to be the divine monarch's return to the mythical Mount Meru, the spiritual heart of the Buddhist kingdom. More than ten million sandalwood flowers have been folded for the ceremony, as the scent is believed to guide souls to the afterworld.

Despite the rain in Bangkok on Wednesday, tens of thousands of mourners lined up to secure their places to witness the cremation. The sun came out on Thursday and a crowd of a quarter of a million is expected while other Thai communities gather around scores of replica cremation pavilions which have been set up across the Asian nation. [...]

In more than seven decades on the throne, King Bhumibol oversaw Thailand's change to a modern, globalized economy with the monarchy as its central institution. Some 16 royal families and 26 "distinguished representatives" are due to attend the central ceremony in Sanam Luang, including the UK's Prince Andrew, Spain's Queen Sofia and former German president Christian Wulff.

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Deutsche Welle: Saudi Arabia exports extremism to many countries - including Germany, study says

Susanne Schröter: The findings do not surprise me at all. It has long been known that Saudi Arabia has been exporting Wahhabist ideology - largely similar to the ideology of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS). Propaganda material and organizational expertise are being sent along with money. People are being hired to build mosques, educational institutions, cultural centers and similar organizations, so that Wahhabist theology can reach the public – with great success. [...]

The export of Wahhabism got off the ground after the Islamic revolution in Iran. The revolution had dramatically shaken the Saudis. When Iran started exporting its Shiite ideology, the Saudis felt threatened by it. Around that time, in 1979, hardliners seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Saudis launched an ideological offensive and said, "Now we are exporting our own ideology. We will show the hardliners in our own country what we are capable of achieving." Then, they started promoting Wahhabism through intermediaries and organizations like the World Muslim League in different countries throughout Asia, Africa and parts of Europe – for example, in former Yugoslavia where Muslims and Christians fought against each other in the civil war. Wahhabists saw it as gateway, where money was needed since the Muslim population was ready for a new and radical ideology.

The result is that, in many parts of the world, a radical form of Islam is gaining the upper hand. I have experienced this first hand in Southeast Asia. In southern Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and sometimes Malaysia, it was always said that a special form of Islam was practiced, a much more open, much more tolerant version. There has been a dramatic development towards radicalism over the past three decades. It is perfectly clear that this development has been encouraged by Saudi money. Moreover, young intellectuals have been recruited with generous scholarships at Saudi universities. These people return to their homes after having studied at Saudi universities and suddenly carry out Wahhabi missionary work in all their home countries.

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Al Jazeera: Remembering Thailand's beloved King Bhumibol

Long revered by Thais as god-like, the world's longest reigning monarch - His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej - has died at 88.

King Bhumibol, also known as Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, served 70 years as the constitutional monarch of the Southeast Asian nation.

He has been praised as a constant force of unification in often tumultuous Thailand, addressing the needs of both urban and rural populations, as well as moderating infighting among the nation's divided political parties. [...]

He's often referred to as the "People's King" and will long be revered by those who bestowed this nickname upon him. His widespread social projects and development programmes secured him near-deity status, ensuring his legacy will persevere in a country with long-standing traditions of patriotism and loyalty to the royal family. [...]

Few monarchs in history have earned the absolute adoration of their subjects to the same extent. His portraits, simultaneously stoic and benevolent, are displayed proudly in living rooms, shops, and public spaces throughout the country. [...]

King Bhumibol was also portrayed as the "Development King". He had a diverse skill set and dedicated much of his reign to royal projects that developed infrastructure at the forefront of providing food and basic necessities for his people, by his people.

These projects were started as self-conducted experiments in the gardens of Chitralada Villa, at his majesty's personal residence, the Dusit Palace. Experiments were conducted in agriculture, forestry, and small-scale industry. Once deemed successful, projects were made available to his people and implemented all over Thailand.

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