History of Thailand: Encyclopedia II - History of Thailand - Military rule

History of Thailand - Military rule

The Siamese coup d'état of 1932 transformed the Government of Thailand from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) initially accepted this change but later surrendered the throne to his ten-year old nephew, Ananda Mahidol. Upon his abdication, King Prajadhipok said that the duty of a ruler was to reign for the good of the whole people, not for a select few. King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) died in 1946 under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the official explanation being that he shot himself by accident while cleaning his gun. He was succeeded by Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest reigning king of Thailand, and very popular with the Thais. Although nominally a constitutional monarchy, Thailand was ruled by a series of military governments (most prominently led by Luang Phibunsongkhram and Sarit Dhanarajata) interspersed with brief periods of democracy. In 1992 the last military ruler, Suchinda Kraprayoon, gave up power in the face of massive popular protests, supported by the king. Since then, Thailand has been a functioning democracy with constitutional changes of government.

On December 8, 1941, a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan demanded the right to move troops across Thailand to the Malayan frontier. The Japanese landed at Bangkok and at several locations along the east coast of southern Thailand, such as the Battle of Prachuab Khirikhan where they engaged the Thai army for six to eight hours before the Thai army determined it would be impossible to defend the kingdom. Shortly thereafter Japan was granted free passage, and on December 21, 1941, Thailand and Japan signed an alliance with a secret protocol wherein Tokyo agreed to help Thailand get back territories lost to the British and French colonial powers and Thailand undertook to assist Japan in her war against the Allies.

After Japan's defeat in 1945, with the help of a group of Thais known as Seri Thai who were supported by the United States, Thailand was treated as a defeated country by the British and French, although American support mitigated the Allied terms. Thailand was not occupied by the Allies, but it was forced to return the territory it had gained to the British and the French. In the post-war period Thailand enjoyed close relations with the United States, which it saw as a protector from the communist revolutions in neighboring countries.

Recently, Thailand also has been an active member in the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially after democratic rule was restored in 1992.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Military rule", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki