On Tuesday, the Thai military seized Bangkok, ousting controversial leader Thaksin Shinawatra and seizing control of the nation. The lack of details has delayed strong international reaction. John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, released a cautious statement. "We think it's important," he said, "that we have peace in the streets in Bangkok, and that their constitutional processes be upheld." The statement is vague for a reason. The United States has interests in both embracing and condemning the coup. In the final analysis, however, it has a greater interest in condemning the coup and returning Thaksin to power. With its extensive commitments elsewhere, however, the United States is unlikely to take too strong a stance.
Keep reading for free!
Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Or, Subscribe now to get full access.
Already a subscriber? Log in here .
What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:
A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:
- Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
- Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
- Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
- The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
- The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
- Completely ad-free reading.
And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.