Independence Day: Never colonized Head of state: King Maha Vajiralongkorn Head of government: Prayuth Chan-ocha Political system: Military dictatorship Democracy Status Index (BTI): Rank 115 of 137 (2020) Corruption Index (CPI): Rank 101 of...
Macrosocial structure The macro-social structure of Thailand has changed significantly due to the economic development. The picture of a traditional society, in which most of the people live in the country and in feudal...
Economic Policy and Development Potential The economic policy of Thailand is strongly influenced by the contradicting experiences of the economic boom 1984-1995 and the following Asian crisis (1997). The causes of the boom and...
Belt and Road Initiative in Thailand Thailand is experiencing a development boost from the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI can primarily be described as an infrastructure project. New roads and...
The media The media in Thailand are strongly contested for power politics. A lively and sometimes critical newspaper landscape exercises a lot of self-censorship. The military governments controlled television and radio for a long...
In official historiography, modern Thailand is in line with the earlier Buddhist kingdoms Sukhothai (approx. 1240-1438) and Ayutthaya (1351-1767). In quasi-feudal societies based on rice cultivation and trade, the majority of the population were...
Domestically, Thailand has been dominated by the political polarization between the yellow shirts and the red shirts since 2005. The background is the (too) successful rise of billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who won the 2001...
Constitutional referendum without discussion With a new constitution, the military wants to consolidate its power over the long term. A House of Lords dominated by the military and made up of appointed, unelected representatives,...
Vajiralongkorn: a scandal prince becomes king Now it’s official: the new King of Thailand is Maha Vajiralongkorn, the eldest son of the late Bhumibol Adulyadej. The coronation was officially carried out in May 2019....
A general becomes prime minister The Thai Parliament has general and coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha with 500 of 744 votes for Prime Minister elected. The initially clear majority becomes wafer-thin if you subtract the...