Phyakrut

To understand the beginnings of Thai politics, you should try to understand the basic concepts behind it. The government of Thailand is very similar with that of Great Britain because it involves a Prime Minister who heads the parliamentary government, and a King, who serves as the head of state for the monarchy. However, this has not always been a constitutional monarchy because Thailand actually started with a different kind of government. Thailand, which was formerly known as Siam, was under the rule of kings. The rule of the kings went on for almost 700 to 800 years, coming from a direct blood line of monarchs. During the times of absolute monarchy, Thai politics was actually non-existent because the entire kingdom did not have any form of written constitution. The king, or the head of monarch, was the one responsible for all types of laws and rules that were adapted in their government. Therefore, no other individuals could give their input regarding any type of laws or regulations in those times. Whatever the king decided was the rule of law. This was the type of Thai politicsthat happened during those years.

However, things began to change in 1932 because people already began to question this type of government. Due to the thirst for a democratic form of government, bureaucrats, young intellectuals and military people joined forces to lead a democratic revolution. To avoid bloodshed, King Prajadhipok, agreed to change the government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional type of government. This is actually considered to be one of the key events that shaped Thai politics. No other event would come close because this led to the abolition of the absolute monarchy and eventually paved the way for a more democratic form of government. The first written constitution was eventually made after the change in government in 1932, which led to the victory of the Thai people. As a result, a prime minister serves as the head of the government, while the hereditary king rules the monarchy. The Thai government is already composed of various coalitions and political parties that are headed by the prime minister.  Although the Thai people still revere the King, he actually does not have any outright authority when it comes to the Thai government.

Unfortunately, things did not go very smoothly since 1932 because there were a lot of problems concerning different factions. If you have been following some of the Thai news, you will discover that there have been a lot of coups that happened over the past few decades. This has led to the abolition of the first few constitutions and the creation of newer ones. In fact, Thai politics has actually had 17 different charters and constitutions because of the political instability over the past few decades. This has also created a very big impact on the Thai economy since investors get discouraged with the relatively unstable government.

If you want to learn more about these topics and to get more updates about Thai politics, make sure to read blogs and websites that feature the latest news from Thailand.

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