Thai State and Middle Classes after 1997 Economic Crisis

Sammanfattning: The 1997 East Asian Economic Crisis not only significantly affected the macroeconomy, but also opened a new era for the political economy in Thailand. This paper tries to explore this new era from various theoretical points of view. One crucial feature in this new era is the 1997 Constitution. The argument is that under the new political institution, the Thai state was, on the one hand, in a relatively strong position to shift itself towards being a developmentalist state; on the other, it also generated rent-seeking behaviour. This study examines the case of Thaksin Shinawatra and his government. The paper is also concerned with the distribution of resources among the Thai middle classes and suggests that the conflicts of interest between them were a crucial cause of the political crisis and, finally, stalled economic performance.