The problem with all the goings on is that the whole country eventually suffers.
I remember reading years ago of Thailand as an Asian Tiger. Came through on a business trip in 1997, in the middle of the Asian Crisis. Thailand's integrity dented, but not smashed.
Since then, Thailand seems to have tried to pull itself up by its bootstraps - with a healthy dose of assistance from its colleagues in Asia. Japan seems to have been very faithful.
In a recent book by Ruchir Sharma - Breakout Nations - Thailand was on schedule to potentially be a breakout nation, provided it could get its political act together and project stability. The other in the same class was Indonesia, oddly-enough.
This was why I initially began looking at the place seriously as a potential fabricator/exporter of personal projects of interest.
Where is Thailand now headed?