Thai politics in translation : monarchy, democracy and the supra-constitution
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Thai politics in translation : monarchy, democracy and the supra-constitution
(Asia insights, 10)
NIAS Press, 2021
Available at 6 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
-
Library, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization図
AHTH||32||T162026202
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-233) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Since Thailand's prolonged political crisis began with royalist mobilization against prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2005, international observers have been treated to easy cliches about reactionary Thai elites. The chapters in this book invite readers to hold back quick judgement and instead engage with the conservative norms of sections of the middle class, the military, intellectuals and state ideologues. The opening chapter by the editors provides a historical overview of relevant themes and introduces the translated pieces. It also argues that the concept of a supra-constitution - first introduced by legal scholar Somchai Preechasilpakul in a brilliant lecture to the Pridi Banomyong Institute in 2007 - is a powerful frame for interpreting conservative Thai politics. Somchai's lecture, now translated here, explains that an unwritten supra-constitution sits above the many failed constitutions that litter Thai history. Like a guiding spirit it contains evolving norms on military and monarchical power which circumscribe democratic political contest. Other translations include chapters from Nakharin Metrairat's seminal Thoughts, Knowledge and Political Power in the Siamese Revolution (1990) and the unsurpassed Political Thought of the Thai Military (1990) by Chalermkiat Phi-nuan. Nakarin's account of vibrant traditionalist thought and Chalermkiat's interrogation of the cosmological underpinnings of military thought offer profound insights unavailable in English-language scholarship. On royalism, the translation of Kramol Thongthammachat's "National Ideology" illuminates how an important state ideologue co-developed a cross-class royalist ideology that emerged as a powerful force after the polarized 1970s. The Thai politician Pramuan Rajunaseri's sensational book Royal Powers, in part translated here, helped in 2005 to mobilize royalist sentiment against Thaksin. Work by Saichon Sattayanurak and Pasuk Phongpaichit, both national award-winning scholars, complete the collection. Pasuk's prescient contribution, originally written in English, warned about new forms of bureaucratic-political patronage emerging during the 1990s that limited civil society activism. Relatedly, Saichon explores how Sino-Thai middle-class dependency on royal power and the judiciary emerges from its historical experience of political insecurity. This is a must-have reference, one that enables a better understanding of the forces that have shaped Thailand's democracy struggles.
by "Nielsen BookData"