MARC SAXER| THAILAND CAUGHT IN THE VERTIGO OF CHANGE Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. The Elections: Turning a Page or Another Round of Conflict?............................... 2 3. The Political Conflict: Thailand Struggles Over Its Political and Social Hierarchy..................... 3 4. The Transformation Crisis: Thailand Needs a New Political, Social, and Cultural Order.................... 8 4.1 Crisis of the Political and Economic Order: Complexity and Emancipation Overstrain the System.......................... 9 4.2 Crisis of the Social and Cultural Order: New Ideas and Plurality Undermine the Normative Foundation.................. 10 4.3 In Sum: The Crisis Can Only Be Solved Through the Adaptation of Order.......... 12 5. How to Organise the Renegotiation of the Social Contract?.................. 12 6. Outlook.............................................................. 14 1