Pasuk Phongpaichit

Chris Baker

A History of Thailand offers a lively and accessible account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. This book explores how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed and examines how the monarchy managed the foundation of a new nation-state at the turn of the twentieth century. The authors capture the clashes between various groups in their attempts to take control of the nation-state in the twentieth century. They track Thailand's economic changes through an economic boom, globalisation and the evolution of mass society. This edition sheds light on Thailand's recent political, social and economic developments, covering the coup of 2006, the violent street politics of May 2010, and the landmark election of 2011 and its aftermath. It shows how in Thailand today, the monarchy, the military, business and new mass movements are players in a complex conflict over the nature and future of the country's democracy.

A History of Thailand

The tertiary education system had been designed to staff the expanding bureaucracy. In the 1960s, David Wilson noted — with some exaggeration — that the only educated Thai outside the ranks of officialdom were a few journalists, condemned to this trade because they failed the exams.

In practice, the social mirror had helped to overthrow the conceit of a single, unified, and regimented 'Thai culture' or 'Thai nation'. What remained was something more casual, and more subject to personal interpretation. Some conservatives continued to imagine 'Thai-ness' as the polite manners of the old hierarchical society. Neo-traditionalists sought it in the face-to-face traditions of a vanishing rural society. Advertisers appealing to the mass audience for beer and energy drinks identified Thai-ness with the martial spirit of Thai boxing and violent episodes from Siam's legendary history.

The transliterated term khorrapchan entered the language and became a major theme of the daily press. In a deft play on the phrase kin mueang ('eating the state', meaning traditional remuneration from the profits of office), Chatichai's government was dubbed the 'buffet Cabinet'.

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