liberation

Deformed class war in Thailand – Part 3

In the third part of a three-part series guest blogger John Moore examines the latest crisis in Thailand. Here he asks what is the likely trajectory of the Thai crisis and argues that the anti-government Red Shirt movement needs to split along class and political lines for there to be a progressive outcome to the continuing conflict. Furthermore, he argues that although the current chapter of the Thai political crisis may have ended, deep seated political and economic divisions in this country mean we will see further examples of conflict involving mass mobilisations of people. The intransigent positions on both sides of the red/yellow divide, and the underlying clash of classes, will mean that this crisis will not be resolved through mere political maneuvering and manipulation from high. The growing republican sentiments amongst the Red Shirts also points to the escalation of divisions in Thai society. [Read more below]

Deformed class war in Thailand – Part 2

In the second part of a three-part series guest blogger John Moore examines the latest crisis in Thailand and asks why the organised working class seem absent from the recent political conflicts that have engulfed Thailand. Undoubtedly thousands of working class Thais have been involved in the current mobilisations against the government. The propaganda of the Red Shirt leaders have targeted both the rural and urban poor, calling for a defence of the social policies, including universal health care, enacted by the former Thaksin led government, and for a ‘people’s revolution’ against the ‘elite’. However, Thailand has a large and significant trade union movement that seems conspicuously absent from the current conflict and mass rallies and protests. A number of historical and political factors account for the absence of organised labour from the current events unfolding in Thailand. [Read more below]

Deformed class war in Thailand – Part 1

In a three-part series guest blogger John Moore examines the latest crisis in Thailand and argues that the conflict between the Red Shirts and the government represents a deformed version of class war. He argues that although a class war is escalating in Thailand, most western commentators seem bamboozled by the array of divisions and groups clashing against each other in the latest round of the political crisis that has engulfed this country for the last few years. Scenes of thousands of militant and defiant protesters wearing either yellow, red and now blue shirts has led many to view the current strive as irrational political squabbling. Much of the media have viewed the deepening divisions in Thailand with confusion and their reporting has lacked any analysis that goes beyond surface appearances. A careful examination of the clashing groups, and their links to antagonistic social groups and classes, offers a deeper reading of these events. [Read more below]

Review of New Zealand politics in 2008

Every year the European Journal of Political Research publishes a political date yearbook which gives a review of politics in a number of western countries. I contribute the section on New Zealand to the journal – last year’s publication on New Zealand politics in 2007 can be read here. Below is the first draft of my review of New Zealand politics in 2008. It still requires a bit of abridging and editing, and as always I’m interested in feedback and suggestions, which you can leave in the comments section or email me (edwards.bryceATgmail.com). [Read more below]

“What happens when Granny turns activist? An examination into the New Zealand Herald campaign against the Electoral Finance Bill”

“Democracy Under Attack” was the heading for the New Zealand Herald’s extraordinary campaign against the Electoral Finance Bill (EFB) before it became law in late 2007. The phrase has almost become iconic, and reflects a significant time in New Zealand politics, when political finance reform was the subject of a bitter, highly partisan and societal debate. That the Herald entered the fray so strongly to campaign against the EFB became – for some – almost as controversial as the bill itself. It’s very useful therefore that there’s been some in depth academic analysis of this issue carried out – which can be downloaded in PDF format here. This very interesting investigation was carried out last year by Hollie Hyndman, who was a University of Otago Politics honours student – and she has kindly allowed it to be uploaded to this blog. The dissertation is an excellent exploration of the dynamics of the Herald’s campaign against the EFB. It doesn’t really seek to give a definitive answer as to whether the Herald’s campaign was warranted and desirable, nor is it passing judgment on the EFB/EFA, but it does contain an incredibly useful debate about all the issues. Hollie gives a very considered account of the Herald’s campaign, applies theory about the role of the media in liberal democracies like New Zealand’s, and interviews Nicky Hager, Therese Arseneau, and Audrey Young about the topic. But importantly, as Hollie says in the abstract, ‘More broadly, the [news]paper’s stance against the EFB is used as a case study for exploring political communication in New Zealand. It provides invaluable insight into media power, the relationship between media and citizens, and the changing role of traditional media in the 21st century’. I’ve included Hollie’s dissertation on this blog because it deserves a wider audience, and because it plays an important role in chronicling and contributing to an understanding of the whole history of the Electoral Finance Act in New Zealand.

The Omaha Establishment(s)

To answer the question of “who runs New Zealand?”, it’s worth looking to the small trendy beach town on Omaha Bay in Rodney District, an hour’s drive north of Auckland. It’s here that the rich of Auckland have their multi-million-dollar holiday homes, and as Bill Ralston has observed, ‘The wealthy beach community of Omaha is to Auckland what the Hamptons are to New York’. What’s particularly insightful about Omaha is that it is a representation of more than just The Establishment in New Zealand, but instead it appears to contain three separate settlements that represent three different Establishments in New Zealand. And in understanding the distinctively different nature of these three Establishments at Omaha beach, we can better understand who now runs this country. [Read more below]

[Act Party history] 29: The 2002 campaign

In the 2002 general election campaign Act was in a defensive mode – attempting to defend its 7% of the party vote. It therefore made a significant effort to rid itself of its extremist image (James, 2002i). This might have been an influence of president Catherine Judd’s Liberal Project within the party. According to Colin James, it tried ‘to present a less rednecked and less radical image than in 1999’ (James, 2002f). [Read more below]

[Act Party history] 28: The Liberal Project

Following the 1999 election, in which Act attempted to mobilise support on the basis of a socially conservative or populist platform, the more radical and policy-seeking faction of Act attempted to pull the party back towards its founding principles. Most significantly, this involved installing Catherine Judd – a Roger Douglas nominee who had not previously been involved in the party - into the party presidency. As president, Judd then instigated the ‘Liberal Project’ – an attempt to develop and reiterate Act as a party of social and economic liberalism. [Read more below]

[Act Party history] 27: Act’s social conservatism in the 1999 election

At the 1999 election Act attempted to mobilise voter support on the basis of a socially conservative or populist platform. The party had moved away from its liberal and libertarian roots, and was taking on strands of social engineering. There had however always been such socially conservative elements in Act – manifested especially by Trevor de Cleene who argued at the party’s first full conference that Act should adopt harsh law and order policies. But these ideas were firmly defeated or ignored right from the beginning, leading Act to be identified as a liberal party. But by 1999 the socially conservative and illiberal element had re-emerged in Act and it was particularly concerned with issues of family and welfare. [Read more below]

Candidate expenditure in 2008

Electorate candidates in 2008 spent a combined total of $2.26m trying to get elected. They also declared receiving donations totaling $1.26m. Winning candidates spent on average $12,836 to get elected. But expenditure varied greatly: Russell Fairbrother spent $19,704 failing to win Napier, while Maurice Williamson won Pakuranga by apparently only spending $1,591. There appears to be quite a discrepancy between what some of these candidates have declared in donations and what they have official spent - for example, Pita Sharples received $35,000 in donations but only spent $8,473, and Allan Peachy received $46,250 but only spent $15,102. This blog post analyses these figures and tries to highlight some of interesting details from them. [Read more below]