Thai nationalism is a political ideology involving the application of nationalism to the political discourse of Thailand. It was first popularised by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI, 1910-1925), and was subsequently adopted and adapted by various leading political factions throughout the twentieth century.
The origins of Thai nationalist thought derive from the creation of the Thai nation-state in the mid-nineteenth century during the reigns of Vajiravudh's predecessors Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851-1868 ) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868-1910), whose reforms in response to colonial pressures resulted in the reconceptualization of the kingdom as a modern polity. Vajiravudh, through his numerous writings, promoted nationalism as a distinct ideology, employing historical narratives written by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and popularizing his views of patriotism. He ascribed the country to a trinity of "nation-religion-monarchy", concepts represented in the national flag adopted in 1917. The Thai nation, in his view, was "a corporate body of people living within the Siam boundary, imbued with a common identity, striving for common goals, and placing public interests ahead of private ones". [1]
Following the bloodless coup which abolished absolute monarchy in 1932 and the abdication of Vajiravudh's successor Prajadhipok (Rama VII) in 1935, the rise to power of Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun), Thailand's fascist strongman leader, saw the promotion of a new wave of nationalism during his first prime ministership from 1938 to 1944. Supported by writings by his cultural advisor Luang Wichitwathakan, the country's official name was changed from Siam to Thailand in 1939, and cultural mandates and reforms that aimed to define Thainess were implemented to promote national assimilation of Chinese immigrants and other non-Thai-speaking minorities in a process known as Thaification. An irredentist ideology known as Pan-Thaiism was promoted with the aim of reclaiming lost territories from the French and British, which were briefly realized during World War II but abandoned thereafter. [1] [2]
As national politics shifted to an anti-communist stance during the Cold War, Thai nationalism was again reframed during the prime ministership of Sarit Thanarat, who deposed Phibun in 1957 and became prime minister in 1958. Sarit promoted a revival of the institution of the monarchy, which had fallen in influence since the 1932 revolution. The government promoted the public image of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), whose many development projects aimed to benefit far-flung rural communities, and the King came to be regarded as a unifying figure and symbol of national loyalty. From the 1970s, the motto of nation-religion-monarchy was revived, and the concept of "democracy with the king as head of state" promoted as the pillar of the country's governance. [1]
In 2018 the Thai government created a "soft power" campaign called Thai Niyom ('Thai-ism') (Thai : ไทยนิยม; RTGS: thai niyom) to reinforce the notion of Thai exceptionalism. It includes "12 Core Values", reminiscent of the earlier Thai cultural mandates. The campaign has been criticized by some academics as "mere state propaganda". [3] [4] In 2019, the rise of the Future Forward Party and its intention to change the existing political, economic, and social order by promoting equality, decentralisation, and modernisation, has given rise to accusations by conservative opponents of chung chart (Thai : ชังชาติ; RTGS: chang chat) ('hating the nation' or 'anti-patriotism'), a new variant of "anti-Thainess". [5] Warong Dechgitvigrom, a conservative politician, stated that, "...today, attempts have been made to instil dangerous beliefs in the new generation, which I'd like to call chung chart,..." [6] He defined the unpatriotic as "...people who insult the monarchy, do not support religion, look down on their own culture, speak ill of their own country, and refuse to accept court rulings." [5] [7]
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in early 2020, ordered the Fine Arts Department to film a series of war movies to boost Thai patriotism. The series will depict Thailand's engagements in world and regional wars, such as the Battle of Pork Chop Hill (1953) and the Vietnam War, and Thailand's roles in World Wars I and II. A second set of films will tell stories about the battles with foreign invaders such as the Battle of Ko Chang 1941 during the Franco-Thai War. A third set will focus on local and internal conflicts such as the Khao Kho Battle (1968) and the Romklao Battle (1988). The films will likely be feature films rather than documentaries. [8] The aim of the films is to "whip up a sense of patriotism" to help reduce conflict in society. [9]
The Tai or Thai ethnic group migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of centuries. The word Siam may have originated from Pali, Sanskrit श्याम, or Mon ရာမည, with likely the same root as Shan and Ahom. Xianluo was the Chinese name for the Ayutthaya Kingdom, merged from Suphannaphum city-state, centered in modern-day Suphan Buri; and Lavo city-state, centered in modern-day Lop Buri. To the Thai, the name of their country has mostly been Mueang Thai.
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat was a Thai military officer who staged a coup in 1957, replacing Plaek Phibunsongkhram as Thailand's prime minister until Sarit died in 1963. He was born in Bangkok, but grew up in his mother's home town in Isan-speaking northeastern Thailand and considered himself from Isan. His father, Major Luang Ruangdetanan, was a career army officer best known for his translations into Thai of Cambodian literature. He had partial Chinese ancestry.
Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, locally known as Marshal P., and contemporarily known as Phibun in the West, was a Thai politician, military officer, and revolutionary who served as the 3rd prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957.
The flag of Thailand shows five horizontal stripes in the colours red, white, blue, white and red, with the central blue stripe being twice as wide as each of the other four. The design was adopted on 28 September 1917, according to the royal decree issued by Rama VI. Since 2016, that day is a national day of importance in Thailand celebrating the flag.
Vajiravudh was the sixth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationalism. His reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I. He had keen interests in Siamese history, archaeology, and literature, as well as economics, politics and world affairs, and founded the country's first university, Chulalongkorn University.
Pridi Banomyong, also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham, was a Thai statesman and professor. He served in multiple ministerial posts, as regent, and as prime minister in Thailand. He led the civilian wing of Khana Ratsadon, and helped found the University of Moral and Political Sciences and the Bank of Thailand.
Prajadhipok was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the 1932 Siamese revolution. He is to date the only Siamese monarch of the Chakri dynasty to abdicate.
The Rattanakosin Kingdom, the Kingdom of Siam, or the RattanakosinEmpire, were names used to reference the fourth and current Thai kingdom in the history of Thailand. It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.
The history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by military dictatorships which were in power for much of the period. The main personalities of the period were the dictator Luang Phibunsongkhram, who allied the country with Japan during the Second World War, and the civilian politician Pridi Banomyong, who founded Thammasat University and was briefly prime minister after the war.
Khuang Aphaiwong, also known by his noble title Luang Kowit-aphaiwong, was the founder of the Democrat Party and three times the prime minister of Thailand: from August 1944 to 1945, from January to May 1946, and from November 1947 to April 1948.
Major-General Luang Wichitwathakan was a Thai politician, diplomat, historian, novelist, and playwright. He is credited with changing the name of the country from Siam to Thailand.
Rambai Barni, formerly Rambai Barni Svastivatana, was Queen of Siam as the wife of King Prajadhipok of Siam.
Thailand officially adopted a neutral position during World War II until the five hour-long Japanese invasion of Thailand on 8 December 1941, which led to an armistice and military alliance treaty between Thailand and the Japanese Empire in mid-December 1941. At the start of the Pacific War, the Japanese Empire pressured the Thai government to allow the passage of Japanese troops to invade British-held Malaya and Burma. After the invasion, Thailand capitulated. The Thai government under Plaek Phibunsongkhram considered it profitable to co-operate with the Japanese war efforts, since Thailand saw Japan – who promised to help Thailand regain some of the Indochinese territories which had been lost to France – as an ally against Western imperialism. Following added pressure from the start of the Allied bombings of Bangkok due to the alliance with Japan, Thailand declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States and annexed territories in neighbouring countries, expanding to the north, south, and east, gaining a border with China near Kengtung.
Prince Boworadej was a Thai attempted-coup leader, government official, General, and royalty. After defeat in the 1933 rebellion, he sought asylum in Cambodia where he lived until 1948 when he returned to Thailand and died in 1953.
The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 was a coup d'état by the People's Party which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulted in a bloodless transition of Siam into a constitutional monarchy, the introduction of democracy and the first constitution, and the creation of the National Assembly. Dissatisfaction caused by the economic crisis, the lack of a competent government, and the rise of Western-educated commoners fueled the revolution.
The coup d'état of 8 November 1947 was a military coup d'état that took place in Thailand on the evening of 8 November 1947 and ended in the early morning hours of 9 November. The coup ousted the government of Pridi Banomyong's frontman, Luang Thamrong, to make royalist Khuang Aphaiwong Prime Minister of Thailand. The coup was led by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Phin Choonhavan and Kat Katsongkhram as a bid to regain the royalists' political power and Crown Property back from the reforms of the Siamese revolution of 1932. The influence of the People Party ended as Pridi left the country on exile.
The Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Thailand is a cabinet-level department in the Government of Thailand. The ministry has wide ranging responsibilities. It is responsible for local administration, internal security, citizenship, disaster management, road safety, land management, issuance of national identity cards, and public works. The ministry is responsible for appointing the 76 governors of the Provinces of Thailand. The Minister of Interior is the head of the ministry. He is appointed by the King of Thailand on the recommendation of the prime minister. Since 1 September 2023, the head of the ministry has been Anutin Charnvirakul. He is aided by two deputy ministers. The FY2019 budget of the ministry is 371,802 million baht.
Thainess, or the Thai identity, is a conceptual identity regarding the quality of being Thai: characteristics seen as distinctive to the Thai people, Thai culture, and those belonging to Thailand as a whole. It forms the central identity upon which discourses on Thai nationalism have been constructed, with main contributors including King Vajiravudh during his reign (1910-925) and Luang Wichitwathakan during the early post-absolute monarchy period.
Thai traditional costumes vary by city and the ruler of each historical period. Thai clothes can be classified according to six distinct periods of history; beginning with the 13th century. Previously, traditional Thai clothes were worn daily; however, they are now only worn on auspicious functions such as Thai traditional marriage ceremonies.
Nation, Religion, King is a motto and classic hendiatris which serves as an official motto of Cambodia and an unofficial motto in Thailand.