ABSTRACT
Although a variety of patterns of judicialization can be identified in Southeast Asia, arguably it is in Thailand that the judiciary has been most formidably transformed. Pulled into the political fray most recently during the crisis that has gripped the country since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in 2006, Thailand’s judges have intervened in politics in ways unprecedented not only in Thailand but throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. With close coordination among Thailand’s top courts, led by decisions of the Constitutional Court, judges have dissolved major political parties, banned their senior executives from politics, toppled two prime ministers, and directly challenged major government policies. Their decisions have drastically altered the Thai political landscape, with far-reaching consequences for democratic governance.
