Joshua Kurlantzick and Pavin Chachavalongpun
The latest member of the Shinawatra family recently rose to become head of the Thai government despite having virtually no government experience and a background in hotel management. Following the Constitutional Court’s recent verdict forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on the grounds that he appointed an illegitimate politician to his cabinet, the ruling Pheu Thai Party decided to nominate Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of longtime power broker Thaksin Shinawatra, to take the helm.
Overwhelmingly winning the vote of Pheu Thai’s parliamentary coalition, Paethongtarn became the 31st prime minister of Thailand and the second female leader of the kingdom. The other woman was her aunt, Yingluck, who was Thaksin’s youngest sister. Yingluck served as prime minister in 2011 before being overthrown in a coup in 2014.
The Shinawatra family has continued to resonate in the Thai political realm in the last two decades, demonstrating their lasting influence despite coups and other attempts to push them out of power. Dynastic politics has never gone out of fashion, whether here or elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The leaders of neighboring states like Cambodia and the Philippines are also the children of former leaders. The son of the current Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, is also poised to become president after winning the vice presidency alongside president-elect Prabowo Subianto. Indonesia’s top court, run by the president’s uncle, lowered the age of the vice presidency so he could run. As in these other states, dynastic politics in Thailand has served to entrench the influence of political clans and sustain patron-client relationships in politics—and do little to promote real democracy.
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