Back to Gideon RachmanWe are all familiar with the basic theory. Economic growth = a rising middle class = pressure for democracy.
So what are we to make of events in Thailand? The middle-class of Bangkok are out in the street - but they appear to be agitating for a roll-back of democracy. Forget the fact that their umbrella organisation is called “The People’s Alliance for Democracy” - the PAD’s main demand is highly undemocratic. It wants a new system in which the Thai parliament is 70% appointed.
The PAD seems to be appalled by the fact that because Thailand is still a largely rural society, parties that appeal to the peasantry - through policies like cheap health-care and cheap credit - keep winning elections. They claim that the resultant governments, while democratically-elected, are corrupt and inefficient. And their arguments seem to resonate even with “respectable” mainstream opinion. Take a look at this editorial in the Bangkok Post, which is deeply unsympathetic to Samak Sundaravej, the beleagured democratically-elected prime minister.
What happens in Thailand matters in itself. It’s a country of over 60m people, and one of the biggest economies in South-East Asia.
But the Thai model should also give pause to those who are relying on a rising middle-class to bring democracy to China. Exactly, the same issues that are present in Thailand apply in China, even more forcibly. The urban middle-class may well prefer order and the preservation of its privileges to a democratic system that seems to hand power to the peasantry.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid correspondent. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
