Thailand

Thailand Formerly known as Siam, it was the only country in south-east Asia that escaped colonial rule, as a result of its geopolitical situation between the French and the British colonial empires. This enabled King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) to play off the British against the French, though he was forced to concede around one-third of the country's possessions to these powers (Laos and Cambodia in the east, and Burma in the west). At the same time, Chulalongkorn westernized the country, through abolishing slavery and introducing extensive judicial, tax, and educational reforms. These were continued under King Vajiravudh (r. 1910–25), who introduced compulsory schooling in 1922. Ironically, the monarchy had thus instituted a series of reforms which served to undermine its own power in the long run. Partly in response to the hardships caused by the Great Depression, but partly also because of the establishment of an educated middle class, King Prajadhipok (r. 1925–35) was forced to relinquish the absolute power of the monarchy in the 1932 revolution.

A period of brief parliamentary government followed, though during the rule of King Ananda Mahidol (r. 1935–46), Phibunsongkhram led a coup in 1938 which established the predominance of the military in the country's political sphere, which was to last for the next half-century. In an attempt to consolidate his support around nationalism, he renamed the country Thailand, after its ethnic majority, the Thais, in 1939. He then used the outbreak of World War II in Europe to reclaim some of the country's territories lost to the British and French, gaining these with the help of the Japanese in 1940–1. In return he allowed the Japanese to occupy his country (1941–4) as a springboard for its military operations against Singapore and India. Thailand formally declared war on Britain and the USA in 1942.

In consequence, a resistance movement began to form against Phibunsongkhram, while wartime shortages and Allied bombing campaigns increased opposition on a popular level. Phibunsongkhram was thus forced to resign in 1944. A series of weak democratic governments followed, which were at great pains to repudiate the country's former links with Japan, surrendering all areas which Thailand had brought under its control during its alliance with Japan. The reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej started with a military coup by Phibunsongkhram, who restored stability on a strongly anti-Communist platform. This yielded considerable returns not only in domestic support but in US aid, which was paid annually from 1950.

Phibunsongkhram was toppled in a bloodless coup in 1957, whereupon Sarit Thanarat suspended the constitution, outlawed political activity, and declared martial law. In 1963 he was succeeded by Thanom Kittikachorn, who continued the military dictatorship except for the period of 1968–71, which was marked by a return to constitutional rule. Throughout this period of undemocratic rule, the country's economic and social development continued uninterrupted. The governments were always strongly pro-Western, allowing the USA to use its bases there for air raids in the Vietnam War. They were also staunchly capitalist, while gradually expanding medical and educational provisions (e.g. in 1960 compulsory education was extended from four to seven years). A brief democratic period (1973–6) was followed by renewed military rule, which gained some stability only under General Prem Tinsulanonda, who was Prime Minister 1980–8. During this period the country achieved spectacular rates of economic growth averaging around 10 per cent per year. In 1991, the army, fearful for its diminishing political power, led a coup against Tinsulanonda's democratically elected successor, General Chatchai Choonhavan.

After nationwide demonstrations, which led to the intervention of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the army's chosen Prime Minister, General Suchinda, was forced to resign. A new civilian coalition under Chuan Leekpai (Democratic Party) carried out an extensive, if at times controversial, land reform. More importantly, on 4 January 1995 it passed fundamental changes to the constitution designed to strengthen Thailand's democracy. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, the equal status of men and women was enshrined in the Constitution, the Prime Minister had to be a member of the elected lower House of Representatives, while the power of the Senate, consisting mostly of army officers, was greatly reduced. The success of this reform remained questionable, however, after the 1995 election produced a parliamentary majority for the pro-military parties led by the Chart Thai, many of whose members were accused of having links with organized crime. Thailand became one of the epicentres of the Asian economic crisis which commenced in 1997. This was caused by structural imbalances created by cheap credit, speculation, and the lack of economic supervision. The popular discontent this caused was defused through the completion of the constitutional reform in 1997. This democratized the political system, and led to a transformation of the Thai party system. The elections of 2001 were won by a newly founded party, the Thai Rak Thai (‘Thais love Thais’) led by the populist magnate Thaksin Shinawatra. Despite several corruptions allegations against him, his movement capitalized on its promises for radical economic reform to obtain 248 out of 500 seats. Following a number of defections from other parties, Thai Rak Thai commanded an absolute majority in parliament. Many of Thaksin's subsequent expansionary fiscal policies were regarded with great suspicion by the international financial community.