Thailand's Political History... Chapter 14 (original) (raw)

Thailand’s “Twilight of the Gods”: Understanding Thai Politics in the Interregnum

Ten years ago Thailand had a popular elected government operating under a publically-endorsed democratic constitution, a thriving economic model dubbed “Thaksinomics” that was being held up as an example for the Southeast Asian region, and had begun to implement historic welfare reforms. Since then the country has seen two military coups, intense political polarization, killings of pro-democracy protesters in the streets, frequent judicial interventions in politics, leading to today’s full-blown military dictatorship which rules by decree. What went wrong? In this talk I explain the reasons for this tumultuous period in Thailand’s politics, assess the strength of the current regime, and consider prospects for the county’s immediate future.

"Republicanism in Thai History", presented at The 12th International Conference on Thai Studies

The modern academic discipline of Thai history has developed more or less in step with the establishment of the political and cultural hegemony that the monarchy now enjoys in Thailand. As a result, the monarchy’s central position within the Thai political system has until recently rarely been questioned by historians. This has changed following the coup of 19 September 2006. As political opposition to the monarchy has grown, some scholars are re-examining the past to highlight the origins of democratic and even republican ideas in Thailand. This paper will seek to trace the history of republicanism in Thailand.