The appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thailand’s Prime Minister reveals the fragility of U.S. positions in Southeast Asia

On August 16, 2024, the Thai parliament appointed 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Prime Minister: the leader of the opportunist Pheu Thai party, as well as the daughter of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the niece of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a military coup in 2014.

This event was the result of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Thailand to remove from the post of head of the Thai government Srettha Thavisin, another representative of Pheu Thai, who, since he was appointed prime minister in the summer of 2023, has maintained the status quo between pro-American, pro-Chinese, and pro-Hunta groups of influence there.

The Constitutional Court’s decision was a turning point that changed the trajectory of Thai dynamics toward greater independence from Chinese influence.