Thailand’s Democracy Revival Hinges on Impartial Law Enforcement

(CTN News) – Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, believes that impartial law enforcement is important to promote democracy in Thailand, whose image has degraded globally.

Thailand’s ranking in the annual EIU Democracy Index dropped from 55 in 2022 to 63 out of 167 countries and territories last year.

Thitinan, a lecturer at the university’s Faculty of Political Science, told The Nation that the drop in the EIU index was not surprising given the suppression of protests over the last two decades, people being detained and denied bail, and two military coups within a decade.

To enhance the country’s standing and strengthen its democratic system, Thitinan believes Thailand should show a greater commitment to preserving basic rights, fundamental freedoms, and media freedom by implementing laws impartially.

“For outsiders looking at Thailand, it is the Thai justice system that is on trial in the eyes of the world,” he said.

Thailand scored a 6.35 out of 10 rating on the EIU index, classifying it as a “flawed democracy”. The EIU explained that countries with “full democracies” score 8 or higher, whilst authoritarian regimes score 4 or lower.

Thailand is one of the countries designated imperfect democracies, scoring between 6 and 8.

The best five countries were Norway (9.81), New Zealand (9.61), Iceland (9.45), Sweden (9.39), and Finland (9.30), whereas the bottom five countries were Afghanistan (0.26), Myanmar (0.85), North Korea (1.08), Central African Republic (1.18), and Syria (1.43).

Thailand has experienced a decline in the EIU index and the yearly Freedom House report, which assesses civil freedoms and political rights.

In 2023, the country received a “not free” rating, scoring 30 out of 100 points. Six of those points were for political rights, with the remaining 24 for civil liberties. The total score for the former is 40, while for the latter, it is 60.