Satellite TV, Internet, cheap flights, tourism, Thai students abroad, intercultural marriages, the global economy, labor migration - rising many questions. Reflect on some aspects:

The Thai and the Internet
The Globalization of Thai Cuisine
Reform, Globalization and Crisis: Reconstructing Thai Labor
Globalization and its Thai Critics
Crossing Borders: Activist Responses to Globalization by Women of the Global South
Tourism, globalisation and sustainable development
THAI TANIC - Thai Art in the Age of Constraint and Coercion
A bridge to Laos too soon

Globalization and Thai Nationalism
Nationalism would seem to have no place in the age of globalization. The free movement of goods, capital and people was supposed to make national borders as quaint as sepia-toned photos and dial phones.

And yet, nationalism, or at least its economic version, is proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the early days of this century. Recent examples of the trend have played out in Russia, Venezuela and even Thailand.

The word "even'' is used in regard to Asia's ninth-biggest economy because it has been a globalization darling for years. Even after the dark days of the Asian crisis a decade ago, Thailand opened its economy as widely to foreign executives and investors as it did to tourists.

There's another reason that Thailand's nationalist U-turn is surprising: a lack of oil. While I am not playing down recent political events in Moscow or Caracas, rising prices of crude oil and natural gas have empowered some leaders to turn inward. As such underground treasures swell government coffers, some politicians feel they can blow off globalization.

Can Thailand really do that? What's odd about the military's control of Thailand since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown in a Sept. 19 coup is the brand of economic nationalism that appears to have been adopted.

It used to be that nationalism was about helping your people, or blaming the rich for the plight of the poor. In Thailand's case, the ruling junta's efforts to date may hurt all Thais.

Sacrificing Investment Thailand's new leaders "are better at being soldiers than in running the country,'' Song Seng Wun, regional economist at CIMB-GK Securities in Singapore, said of the Thai government's plan to limit foreign investment. "At the moment, their hearts are with the nationalistic elements, and foreign direct investment is being sacrificed.''

Added Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University: "The coup-makers have lost their way. They are trying to put in safeguards against economic colonization after the pendulum swung very far under the previous government. So far, they haven't done it very well.''

Thing is, nations such as Russia and Venezuela can use their vast oil revenue to offset drops in foreign direct investment, trade or gross domestic product. When you are Thailand and your big exports are agricultural products, fish and labor-intensive manufactured goods, turning away from the global economy isn't an option.

Genie Is Out Putting the genie back in the bottle will do more harm than good for this nation of 64 million people. While there's some confusion about what's going on, the junta is aiming to close loopholes to ensure international investors' stakes in publicly traded companies are capped at less than 50 percent. Investors also were spooked by moves to change investment rules and curb baht speculation.

Some of these steps are now being scaled back, or so it seems. Things keep changing fast, leaving business people with little choice but to follow media reports, and hope for the best. The government estimates 1,337 companies will be affected by the tightened ownership rules. That will send a chill through Thailand's business climate.

The ostensible reason for clamping down on foreigners relates to the Shin Corp. saga. Last year, Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte purchased majority control of Shin Corp. from Thaksin's family, who didn't pay tax on a transaction that set the prime minister's ouster in motion. Observers figure recent changes in Thailand's foreign-investment rules were meant to reduce Temasek's stake - and to stop any future Shin-type deals.

Businesses Hurt It's a classic toss-out-the-baby-with-the-bathwater situation. Thailand's investment climate is worsening amid political instability, foreign-ownership probes and capital- control policies, Standard & Poor's said in a report last week. There is a "very strong'' chance the company will lower its outlook on Thailand's credit rating, said S&P's Singapore-based analyst Kim Eng Tan.

Consider, also, the plight of Toyota Motor Corp. New capital controls will crimp the ability of the Japanese carmaker's Thai unit to receive finance from its Tokyo-based parent as it expands. The measures "directly affect us,'' said Mitsuhiro Sonoda, newly appointed president of Toyota's Thai unit. "Our funding costs will be higher and this will curb our competitiveness.''

Misplaced Nostalgia It's hard not to sympathize with the military's hope of unleashing a little "Gross National Happiness,'' or the idea that growth should make everyone happy without destroying cultural identity. It's a laudable goal, though it's too late to reverse course drastically. Doing so risks lowering growth and hurting more Thais than government policies help.

Thailand's new leaders are faring so poorly that they are inspiring nostalgia for the Thaksin days. While I've long been critical of Thaksin's autocratic and unscrupulous ways, the military's shaky leadership is damaging investment, business and consumer confidence.

CIMB's Song said he's "quite sure'' Thailand will rebound "strongly'' in a year or so. "But in the coming months,'' he added, "current and potential investors may take a wait-and-see attitude towards Thailand.''

I hope he's right about Thailand's longer-term outlook. Some may call the military's approach economic nationalism. A more accurate description may be a shot in the foot for Asia's most-promising economy.