Thailand's Reluctant Autocrat

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has a new lease on political life, one that his advocates hope he will leverage to contain rising military power and foster reconciliation with the political opposition. In recent weeks, his ruling Democrat party narrowly survived two electoral fraud court cases that had threatened to dissolve the party and ban Abhisit from politics.

Just days after the court's second decision, Abhisit announced his intention to lift a state of emergency that has been in effect in the capital Bangkok and three surrounding provinces since April 7 in response to sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations spearheaded by the United Front for Democracy Against