Since the 2006 military coup, Thailand has continued to sink deeply into political stalemate. The protracted conflict and the political polarization in thai society deserve a separate in-depth analysis. To provide context for the following discussion, the current crisis can be explained in terms of conflict between two profoundly divided and opposing camps for ultimate political control: the red-shirted supporters of thaksin and those who back the country’s ‘network monarchy’ , a term coined by Duncan McCargo referring to a loose alliance of the palace, the military, and the democrat party led by former prime minister abhisit vejjajiva.