Thai Foreign Policy

Thailand was the centre of international attention in 1997. No longer was it confused with Taiwan, or completely unrecognized, by journalists at interna tional fora.1 Unfortunately this was not a triumph of foreign policy, but a tragedy of financial mismanagement. Economic problems that led to the float ing of the baht in July triggered attacks on currencies and stock markets throughout much of Southeast Asia, then spread to East Asia and impacted on much of the world. This was not the type of recognition Thai leaders had sought. Early in his rule, Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh lamented that Thailand no longer played a leadership role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and pledged to correct this.2 After Chuan Leekpai became prime minister, the Nation newspaper declared that Thailand was resuming its long-lost leading role in ASEAN affairs.3 New Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan asserted confi dently that Thailand had become the architect preparing ASEAN to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. These views all reflect a deep conviction among Thai leaders and foreign policy analysts that in the 1980s Thailand enjoyed a golden age of foreign policy when the rest of ASEAN followed its lead. In the 1990s others have taken the initiative

Foreign policy · Political science · Politics · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

• Conflict management and constructive engagement in Asean's expansion

  Ramses Amer•Third World Quarterly•1999

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• Thailand's diplomacy on Cambodia

  John Funston•Asian Journal of Political Science•1998

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• The Role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand

  John Funston, Funston John•Contemporary Southeast Asia•1987

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