Peer Reviewer 1:
This document needs rewriting. The story about the rubber farmers is compelling, but misleading, especially the author's attempt to link it directly to the coup. 1. The rubber scandal was only a small part of the corruption within the Thaksin government, so to suggest that it helped spark the coup seems far-fetched. 2. Corruption was a justification the military used for the coup, but few analysts see that as the major reason for the intervention they think it rather was Thaksin's attempts to centralize power which threatened the interests of the monarchy and military. 3. Finally, the following statement conflicts with the facts: "Their rice bowls were empty, and their faith in democracy was shaken. Their crisis of faith helped set the stage for the military coup of September 2006, which ended a nine-year run of constitutional democracy." In fact, the polling just prior to the coup showed the North and North East were likely going to reelect Thaksin in the upcoming elections, just like they had just done a few months before. The North East rejected the military's charter in the recent referendum (by 63 percent)--which was widely seen as an anti-coup, pro-Thaksin vote, and many areas of the North did the same. Where, then, is the evidence that the North/North East voters have experienced a crisis of faith that has somehow contributed to the coup? Were Thaksin to be allowed to return and run in December he would have won again in these two regions. As it is, his front party is likely to win.
Peer Reviewer 2:
The reviewer is a gripping and engaging writer. I thought though, given the space length, the writer painted too vivid a picture about this particular corruption case. I think the report would have more impact if it went faster to the corruption case (avoiding the details of farming life) as well as reduced the overall amount of detail in the actual case. This would free up space to present a slightly bigger picture and add a stat or quote about the overall level of corruption to put the issue into context.
Indeed, if corruption was one of the precipitating factors leading to the coup that would have been a great angle to follow (though now its probably too late to focus on a re-write). If I represent an "average reader" of the Global Integrity profiles (educated middle class English-speaking Westerner), I will be more interested in the coup angle than the farmer angle.
Otherwise, this was a great article to review. I enjoyed it very much.
Peer Reviewer 3:
The notebook is very well-written and informative, but a large part of it is based on events that happened quite a while ago. While this is important to set the stage for understanding the military coup, more space could be dedicated to discussing life under the coup, changes that have occurred in Thailand's social, political, and economic life since the coup, and the views of the king in the entire affair.
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