Thailand’s populism has come close to its limit

Since the 2006 coup, which ousted Thaksin Shinawatra, there have been two general elections in Thailand. Both these elections — in 2007 and 2011 — saw successor parties allied with Thaksin win more seats than any other party, all while Thaksin himself was in exile. These successive victories highlight the influence of populist economic policies in Thai politics, a trend Thaksin set in place at the time of his first election in 2001.

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