From “Chakravartin” to “Nationalism”: When Chakravartin was unwitting baptism.

Abstract

The Siamese elite claimed legitimacy to rule the kingdom by the conception of “Chakravartin” before they changed to the conception of "nation" in the 19th century from Western influence. However, Chakravartin was rooted in a very different belief from Nation. Chakravartin is the principle that emphasizes “include”, in contrast to the nation that emphasizes “exclude”, giving that “Thai nation” is so awkward. Concisely, the Siamese elite adopted the “form” of the conception of, but instead used the content of conception of “Chakravartin” to make up the "Thai nation". That why “Thai nation” is full of controversy, overlap, and inconsistent.