British historian weighs in on Thai crisis

Thaksin Shinawatra is angry. “This is the worst political accusation I ever had,” Mr. Thaksin, a former prime minister, said Tuesday in a message delivered by a spokesman — sent, as always, from an undisclosed location abroad.

Behind the coils of barbed wire and battle-ready troops in the city’s financial district, someone has been poking fun at him, putting up signs that say, “Thaksin Shinawatra, president of a New Thai State.” It is a sensitive point for Mr. Thaksin and his red shirt movement, which has been accused of seeking to turn Thailand’s constitutional monarchy into a republic as it challenges the country’s established power structure....

“My guess is that leadership is now quite distributed because this sort of protest needs very hands-on leadership on the ground, so he cannot microdirect in any way,” said Chris Baker, a British historian and author of books about Mr. Thaksin. “Because of that, my feeling is that control has shifted significantly over the past month, and his interventions just seem to be expressions of support rather than strategic or tactical.”...