Thailand and Democracy after 1932 Thai politics ii Thailand and Democracy after 1932

Colonial Era At the beginning of the colonial era, western powers pressured the country to evolve along republican, parliamentary and revolutionary lines having their roots in French revolution and the fall of the Russian tsar.

Western Structure Despite the efforts of several kings, Thailand had insufficient time to educate its population in preparation for western political, industrial and economic changes, albeit female vote was granted since the first general election.

Democratic Monarchy Since becoming a constitutional democratic monarchy in 1932, despite of the western-style democratic structure, the country has been many times ruled by military governments. Political freedom, freedom of speech and basic human rights were strongly compromised in the first three quarters of the twentieth century.

Resistance Due to the pressure from outside situation, The Vietnam War, the politics of the kingdom became even more tensed. The military government with support of the US step up its control over the country's politics while the intellectuals and socialist students strongly opposed the junta.

Student Uprisings Student-led uprisings in October 14, 1973 led to a new vision of liberating the country from military government and against the return of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorna, a military dictator, an anti-communist and Prime Minister from 1963 to 1973.

Student Massacre The media received more freedom to criticize politicians and governments, while revolutionary and socialist movements became more apparent. However, right-wing military and conservative politicians like Samak Sundaravej reversed the reforms in a massacre on October 6, 1976 .

VDO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siO2u9aRzns

Post Indochina War At the end of the Indochina War, investment by foreign businesses helped alleviate poor infrastructure and social problems. The middle classes enjoyed wealth and increasing freedom while the majority were poor in the rural areas and slums. Society had become more materialistic.

Corruption and Bribery Corruption and bribery in all sectors have been on the rise. Most politicians were elected because of vote-buying and achieved a return on their investments by selling themselves to pass biased resolutions or corrupt budget bills. To win an election, an MP would pay around five hundred baht (10-20 USD) per person, totaling 10 to 30 million baht for a single election.

Thai Democracy in Struggle The system of rule fluctuated between unstable civilian governments and interludes of military takeover. As a result, there have been 18 coups and resultant 18 constitutions in the history of Thai politics.