Fear, Lost Hopes And Thailand’s Milocracy – Analysis – Eurasia Review

Former army general Prayuth Chan-ocha’s 2014 coup against the besieged Yingluck Shinawatra government, and the 2017 constitution that was forced through prior to the 2019 elections, fulfilled a long-time goal of the Thai military. 

The first step in enhancing the military’s influence over Thai politics was the 1932 coup. Seven hundred years of absolute monarchy was ended when King Prajadhipok was coerced to adopt a constitution allowing for a constitutional democracy. The instigators of the 1932 coup were a close-knit group of military officers, civil servants, and members of Thailand’s influential elite circle. Although this dramatic change in the manner of rule was made in the name of the Thai citizenry, only members of the elite circle, were the ones who governed the country until the end of the Twentieth Century. The 1932 coup can be seen as an opportunity taken to…