Siam Satiety — Food for the Soul (Thailand’s Struggle for Democracy)
Military and monarchic groups, often relying on each other’s capability and ideological strength, have intervened frequently to subvert the democratic rule of law. Those who have tried to build democracy meanwhile remain much less well known. In a region where state-enforced historical amnesia is rife, Thailand has turned it into an art form.
~ Arjun Subrahmanyan at 2
The Struggle for Democracy in Postmodern Thailand
The year 1932 would prove to be a pivotal year for Thailand. A “bloodless revolution” resulted in Rama VII agreeing to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. When negotiations about the limits of monarchial powers broke down, Rama VII abdicated his throne. He was the only Chakri dynasty king that had ever done so.
But that pivotal moment in history was not in any real sense a bright, unobstructed path to democracy. After the birth of a constitutional monarchy, Thailand came under six decades of unstable governance that wavered between military rule and a fragile democracy. As it turned out, the People’s Party that sought to overthrow Thailand’s absolute monarchy was itself anything but democratic.
Amnesia: A History of Democratic Idealism in Modern Thailand
In a wonderfully informative book, author Arjun Subrahmanya explains Thailand’s struggle in its path to democracy in an intellectual fluency that was at once welcoming to novice readers of Thai politics and challenging to the student of world history.
At the time of the bloodless revolution, Thailand was the only remaining absolutist monarchy in the world. A quick and perfectly executed ambush by the promoters of the People’s Party took the royalty by surprise in June 1932. The key royal strongholds of Bangkok were besieged, along with a few members of the royalty and nobility.
King Rama VII had a few options, and he decided to return to Bangkok and negotiate for a preservation of royal power and standing in Thailand. He accepted constitutional monarchy. The People’s Party then proposed the establishment of the Constitution and the National Assembly.
Between 1933 and 1938, in the nascent but tumultuous years of Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the institutional features that usually defined a viable democracy had failed to develop. Some public intellectuals had attempted to set up an opposing party but failed. The National Assembly also failed to function as envisioned.
The politics of this critical first post-revolution decade consisted of much chaos, with the People’s Party struggling against the royalist forces that sought to restore the monarchy. There were a lot of back and forth between the royalists and the People’s Party in 1932, but the Bowondet rebellion of 1933 was a critical event that resulted in the brutal smothering of all critical dissents in the Thai society against the People’s Party.
As a matter of history, the events of this era have, first and foremost, resulted in the rise of military rule as a common feature in Thai politics and government. The successful crackdown of the Bowondet rebellion was credited to Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who would seal his status and power as the prime minister in 1938. He was the one that would navigate much of Thailand’s positioning during WWII.
The way with which Plaek Phibunsongkhram cracked down on dissents following the Bowondet rebellion was a harbinger of the fragility of Thai democracy that would come and continue well into the 21st century. 19 military coups would follow in Thailand’s history after 1932, although the recent two coup d’états were bloodless. Despite its initial idealism, the People’s Party had to consolidate its power in ways that clearly went against the spirit of democracy. The freedom of speech was mute soon, and there would be no opposing political party in proper governance for years to come.
Thailand Today
As of 2025, Thailand has had the second civilian prime minister since the military coup of 2014 by General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The current prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, of the Pheu Thai party, was elected after the Constitutional Court removed the previous civilian prime minister Srettha Thavisin for ethics violation in 2024. Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the youngest daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, who served as the 23rd prime minister of Thailand. She is the second woman in Thailand’s history that served as the prime minister, after her own aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.
General Prayuth Chan-ocha, as the last military ruler of Thailand, served as the prime minister of Thailand between 2014 and 2023. During his tenure, a controversy arose that he had way exceeded the term limit of eight years for the premiership as provided for in the Constitution. Although he “won” the issue with the Constitutional Court, he announced the decision to step down after failing the bid in extending his rule via a general election in 2023.
Surely, the frequency with which the military takes over the government in Thailand probably tops the world, but that is not to say that the military seizes power without popular support. The people of Thailand have a practical eye to the way that a democratic government worked in their country. Where it fails to deliver its end of the bargain, the people do come around to a military rule that will subject itself to elections and openness.
Finally, a word of conclusion on this brief study of Thailand’s history. What I had not managed to do in this series is a thorough and proper study of the role of religion in Thai society. I do think that this is as important as understanding standard history and politics in Thailand. There will be such opportunity, however. In the future, I would like to visit northern Thailand for a longer period of time. There are plenty of cultural heritage and significant temples in that area.
Even a cursory stay in Bangkok showed me how the Thai people embrace religion in every aspect of their daily lives. Needless to say, the monks of Thailand had their clout and influence historically. There are also contending schools within the same umbrella faith of Theravada Buddhism. In due course, that study will come.
Sources
Arjun Subrahmanyan, Amnesia: A History of Democratic Idealism in Modern Thailand (2021).
The Wikipedia on Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The Wikipedia on Prayut Chan-o-Cha.
Lipikar Narayaem Lindman, Military Coups in Thailand: The Strategic Arguments to Justifiy a Democratic Setback, Uppsala Universitet, available here.