Capsule Review
May/June
2009
<p>Andrew J. Nathan</p>
Based on a year's fieldwork, interrogation records, and anonymous leaflets, among other sources, this book argues that Thailand's overcentralized state failed to give meaningful participation to ethnically Malay Muslim citizens.
Comment
Elected in a landslide just last year, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed last week in a bloodless overthrow organized by the military. Over the year his fall from grace had been steady and swift, thanks to his abuse of power, repression of the opposition and Muslim minorities, and allegations of corruption. Still, argues Duncan McCargo of the University of Leeds, even if Thaksin deserved to go, the manner of his passing will endanger the country's democracy and stability.
