I.

Foundation of Politics

i. TRADITIONAL STATE SYSTEM OF THAILAND

Siam in its early years was a complete monarchy system that was ruled by Kings and their
kingdoms. Under two structures, it was hierarchical that emphasizes respect for authority and
because thailand was a buddhist country, its religion in itself conditioned its people to be passive
and to value humility and believed that the social and economic inequalities were a result of karma.

A. Classical Thailand

Thailand or what was previously known as Siam was a part of a larger group of Tai-
speaking individuals who can be found in areas ranging from northeastern India to northern
Vietnam, and from southern China to the central Malay Peninsula. Previously, experts believed
that a main group called the Proto-Tai originated in southern China and moved south and westward
into northern mainland Southeast Asia. However, it is now generally accepted that the Tai people
originated from northern Vietnam, particularly around the Dien Bien Phu region, and around 1,000
years ago they migrated northwards into southern China, westwards into southwestern China,
northern Myanmar, and northeastern India, and southwards into present-day Laos and Thailand.

Tai-speaking peoples traditionally dwelt along river valleys, where they established small
communities and engaged in subsistence rice agriculture, fishing, and forest product gathering.
Their leaders were called chao which meant hereditary chief or Lord. The political strength of the
müang system enabled the Tai to move out of their ancestral homeland throughout the first
millennium CE, and by the eighth century, they had spread across much of southeastern China and
northern mainland Southeast Asia.

Once the Tai moved to mainland Southeast Asia they met the Mon-Khmer speaking people
who inhabited the region long before they arrived. Throughout the early decades of the first
millennium CE, Indian traders journeying to China brought Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and
practices to some of those peoples, notably the Mon of what is now Burma. The Mon were the
first people in Southeast Asia to embrace Buddhism. Throughout the sixth and ninth centuries, the
Mon created many tiny Buddhist kingdoms in what is now southern Burma and central Thailand.

Kingdoms that had risen after were the Kingdom of Sukhothai, established in the mid-13th
century when a local Tai monarch launched a revolt against Khmer control at a Khmer empire
outpost, and Ayutthaya whose independent kingdom that lasted for 200 years until the city was
sacked by Burmese soldiers. Both were believed to have been the proper beginnings of Siam or
Thailand.
 B. Foundation

The foundation of Thailand is rooted in its ancient history and culture, which dates back
to prehistoric times. The earliest known civilization in Thailand is the Dvaravati culture, which
emerged in the 6th century CE and was characterized by the development of Buddhism and the
construction of elaborate temple complexes. Later, the Khmer Empire, based in present-day
Cambodia, exerted significant influence over Thailand during the 11th to 13th centuries CE. The
Khmer Empire built many important temples and religious sites in Thailand, including the famous
Angkor Wat temple complex. In the 13th century, the Thai people migrated from present-day
southern China to establish their own kingdoms in what is now Thailand. These kingdoms included
the Sukhothai Kingdom, which emerged in the 13th century and was known for its art and
architecture, and the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which was established in the 14th century and became
a major center of trade and commerce. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Kingdom of Siam,
as Thailand was then known, experienced significant political and economic changes, including
the rise of the Chakri Dynasty and the modernization reforms under King Chulalongkorn (Rama
V) in the late 19th century. Today, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a rich history and
culture that is celebrated through its art, music, food, and festivals

Siam, began modernizing in the late 19th century during the reign of King Chulalongkorn
(Rama V) from 1868 to 1910. The modernization process was known as the "Chakri Reformation"
and aimed to modernize the country's political, economic, and social systems to prevent
colonization by European powers. The modernization process began with the introduction of
Western-style education and administrative systems, including the establishment of a bureaucracy
and the adoption of a constitutional monarchy. King Chulalongkorn also initiated a series of
reforms to abolish slavery, codify laws, and modernize the military. In addition, the King traveled
extensively to Europe and other countries to study their political and economic systems and
brought back ideas and practices to implement in Thailand. He also encouraged trade and
commerce, and promoted infrastructure development such as railways, roads, and telegraph lines
to improve connectivity within the country. Currently, Thailand mostly consists of 75% Thai and
14% Chinese whose religious beliefs are mostly Buddhism.

Overall, Thailand's modernization process under King Chulalongkorn was gradual and
aimed to preserve the country's unique culture and identity while adopting Western ideas and
practices to modernize the country.
 C. Impact of the Sakdina System

Sakdina (Thai: ) was a social hierarchy structure that existed in Thailand from Ayutthaya
through the early Rattanakosin periods also founded by King Borommatrailokkanat (feudal
system). It assigned each person a numerical rank based on their standing and served to define
their precedence in society, particularly among the nobles. The system was initially developed into
a centralized capitalist state ruled by an absolute monarchy. The monarchy was at odds with the
old nobles and local Sakdina rulers. The peasantry consistently strove to evade forced labor and
refused to work for low wages as new capitalist wage laborers. Extra-wage workers had to be
brought in from China. Suddenly, these Chinese workers were organizing unions and fighting for
better working conditions. Finally, a combination of the 1932 economic crisis and widespread
political unrest throughout entire sections of society resulted in the revolution that deposed the
absolute monarchy. Following that, several kinds of constitutional rule emerged, dominated
primarily by periods of military dictatorship.

After many mass uprisings against military dictatorship the communist pary of thailand
was created (CPT) However, the C.P.T. failed in its attempt at a democratic capitalist revolution
because of their belief that thailand was a semi feudal colony. The only path ahead was through
revolutionary battle for socialism, as described by Marx. making the organization collapse by the
late 1980s .

After many revolutions and coups that lasted for 25 years the pattern of class conflict
between the ruled and the rulers in Thailand over the past quarter-century has demonstrated that
the working class is a formidable force. Today, after many Thai protests contemporary sakdina
system highlights characteristics of the sakdina–ratsadonantinomyin four realms: political,
economic, sociocultural, and ideological. It demonstrates that the present protests are addressing a
totalitarian system of tyranny and injustice with deep roots.
II. Political Actors

A. Military

The state of military rule in Thailand comes from not a violent takeover of government or
the stereotypical ousting of civilian administration, but rather through a mutual framework with
the said civilian government. Both civilian and military authorities, ever since their bloodless coup
to overthrow the monarchy, took turns to administrate the government, corresponding to what
national pressures the country was facing at the time. Eventually, however, it would be the military
that would become the primary authority in the governance of Thailand.

B. King

The King of Thailand is a constitutional monarch who has reigned since 1946 and is the
world's longest-serving head of state as well as Thailand's longest-reigning monarch. The King of
Thailand is not only the Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, but he
is also the Upholder of Buddhism. As a result, he is considered a political unifier among its people,
but it appears that a religious cult has arisen around the figure of the monarch. He is a revered
leader with significant authority and influence among the people. Historically, the Thai monarchy
has been vital in keeping the kingdom politically stable and out of a number of disputes, with the
Thai monarchy preferring peace and stability above violence.Scholars, students, the media,
observers, and traditionalists have been more critical of the Thai monarchy's position since 2000,
with many seeing the country's lèse-majesté laws and regulations as barriers to free expression.

The world's worst lèse-majesté law has been used to make numerous arrests, conduct
hundreds of criminal investigations, and inflict multiple prison sentences. According to political
analyst Giles Ungpakorn, the statute is not intended to defend the monarchy, but rather to shield
administrations and military coups from legal scrutiny. The Bureau of the Royal Household and
the Crown Property Bureau, which are separate from the Thai government, administer the
monarchy's household and finances. The junta that took power in 2014 relentlessly imprisoned
royal critics and spent billions of dollars on a public relations campaign to "love, preserve, and
uphold the monarchy." In 2020, the monarchy received 0.93% of the total budget assistance.
i. CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS

A unique trait of the military’s relationship with the civilian population when comparing
with other military regimes is the support that they enjoy from the general public. One factor comes
from the military’s preservation of the monarchy, recognizing the king’s role as a symbol of
national unity and his influence on the general masses and the Buddhist faith in Thailand. This is
why on the surface level Thailand seems to be an absolute monarchy, but it is a monarchy promoted
and ensured by a government ruled by military authority.

Yet this is a system that has garnered support from the people, for the perseverance of the
king highlights the uniqueness of the Thai state: that it has never been abruptly overthrown by a
colonial power. And with that, the continuance of the monarchy not only as a constitutional body,
but as a real source of influence over the people of Thailand emulates that image of being purely
Thai. But the perseverance of the monarch is not the only factor that determines the military’s
control of the government, as it is that the military has monopolized nearly every facet of Thai
society that it has become “hard to imagine life without it.” Effectively, the military has become
the single patron institution in Thai society and one that ensures political movement among its
members. Added are the benefits one can get from being a part of the military alone. But with how
dominant the military has come to be, it has gone down and succumbed to factionalism in the form
the military cliques.

ii. MILITARY CLIQUES IN THAILAND (PAST AND PRESENT)

Military cliques of the past were simply Thai kings and princes with households of armed
hosts that contend with outside enemies and each other. In 1448, the king effectively
professionalized his army by hiring the tutelage of the Portuguese in the use of firearms, and the
sending of he military officers in his court to Europe to study warfare. Overtime, these military
officers, and effectively the military itself, became more and more significant until their coup d'etat
which overthrew the administrative power of the king and replaced it with their own.

From there on the military establishment became an active political institution within the
Thai state. And from this dominance came the fracturing of motives and agendas between officers:
military cliques. Military cliques are strong political forces for membership extends to the society
in general. Each military clique maintains support from among the members of the governmental
bureaucracy, business and ordinary people. Replacing the patron-client relationship of the sakdi
na system, the cliques have become sources of patronage for the people to subsist on.
 III. Government

a. System of Government

Thailand's government system is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy.

The current constitution was approved in 2017 to replace the one that was repealed following a
military takeover in 2014. The King of Thailand is the head of state, while the Prime Minister is
the head of government, according to the Thai constitution. The federal government is structured
into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is made up of the
Prime Minister and cabinet members, who are nominated by the King on the Prime Minister's
suggestion. The legislative branch is a bicameral parliament made up of the Senate, which is
appointed, and the House of Representatives, which is elected. The judiciary is apart from the other
branches and is in charge of interpreting and enforcing the law.

b. Parliamentary

The House of Representatives is Thailand's lower house of the National Assembly, the
country's legislative body. Thailand has a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy
as its governing system. The House of Representatives has 500 members, all of whom are
democratically elected: 400 are elected by single member constituency elections, while the
remaining 100 are elected via party lists parallel voting. The House of Representatives' functions
and powers were entrenched in the 2017 Constitution, which was revised in 2021.

As a result of the 2014 Thai coup, the House of Representatives was temporarily abolished
and replaced with the unicameral National Legislative Assembly, a body of 250 members chosen
by the National Council for Peace and Order. The House of Representatives was reestablished
following the proclamation of the 2017 Constitution in April 2017, but the constitution permitted
the military National Legislative Assembly to remain in existence until the House of
Representatives was created following the 2019 general election.