Fighting for Virtue: Justice and Politics in Thailand.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Author: Larsson, Tomas

Fighting for Virtue: Justice and Politics in Thailand. By Duncan McCargo. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2019. Hardcover: 261pp.

The March 2019 elections in Thailand generated one major surprise: the unexpected electoral success of the progressive Future Forward Party. However, the fate of this new bete noire of the Thai establishment was not unexpected to anyone attuned to what is often referred to as the "judicialization" of Thai politics over the past twenty years. Indeed, the Constitutional Court, as part of what Duncan McCargo calls the "network monarchy", quickly took a leaf out of the playbook for how to deal with an earlier (perceived) threat to the established order: former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Future Forward Party was therefore immediately forced to run the gauntlet of the Thai judicial system, with the ultimate outcome regarded as a foregone conclusion by many observers. The Constitutional Court first prevented party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from taking his seat in parliament, and then, in February 2020, dissolved the party. Thanathorn still faces criminal charges and though it may dismay many it would surprise few if he eventually receives a prison sentence.

McCargo's new book, Fighting for Virtue: Justice and Politics in Thailand, does not deal directly with these recent developments. However, it does provide...