Thailand's Political History: From the 13th Century to Recent Times

First appearing in 2005 and quickly selling out, this fully revised edition of 'Thailand's Political History' continues in the same style as the first but with its scope dramatically widened. Starting earlier than the old edition, 'Thailand's Political History' discusses the development and evolution of the Siamese state from the early Sukhothai period through the fall of Ayutthaya to the rise of the Chakri dynasty in the late eighteenth century and its consolidation of power in the nineteenth. Moving into the twentieth century it traces the emergence of the Thai nation state, the large-scale investments in infrastructure and the commitment to economic expansion that have occurred since the 1950s onwards. A new final chapter brings the reader up-to-date and addresses Thailand's current political situation spanning the rise and fall of Thaksin Shinawatra to the devisive and at times violent polarisation of Thai society. It traces the emergence of the red and yellow shirts, the takeover of Suvarnabhumi airport by the PAD and the occupation of the Rachaprasong intersection by the UDD and their eventual violent dispersal by the Thai military. Often at variance with dominant interpretations of nationalistic history, this absorbing account throws fresh and illumininating light on the political events in the past 700 years.