A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL POWER IN THAILAND
Keywords:
Comparison, Political Power, Past to PresentAbstract
This academic article aims to compare the evolution of Thai political power from the past to the present by analyzing the continuity and change of power structures from 1932 to the contemporary political context. The study is divided into four key periods: 1. Absolute Monarchy; 2. The transition following the 1932 Revolution; 3. The development of the state as a bureaucratic polity and the role of the military; and 4. Power allocation within the current hybrid regime. Data were analyzed through the frameworks of state power, elite theory, and civil-military relations to systematically categorize structural dynamics. The findings reveal that Thai political power is characterized by being morphing in form but not in essence. Despite the transition to a constitutional system, actual power has not truly decentralized to the people. Instead, power was transferred from traditional elites to modern elites, forming a network among the military, bureaucracy, and capital groups. Currently, the power structure has evolved into a Hybrid Regime with Pluralized Power, where the ruling elite employs strategies of institutional power and the judicialization of politics through the constitution and independent organizations to establish legal legitimacy over the will of the citizens. Meanwhile, the military maintains its role through indirect military tutelage via legal and security mechanisms. This study indicates that the ruling elite's ability to continuously adapt institutionally has resulted in Thai democratic development remaining in a state of stagnant transition. Understanding these concurrent dual-level power dynamics is significant for designing future reforms of the Thai state structure to truly anchor it in popular sovereignty.
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