Liberating Thai History: The Thai Past in an Asian Century

Abstract

The nationalist plot of modern Thai history stresses the kingdom’s exceptionalism as the only un-colonized state in Southeast Asia and highlights the steadiness of unbroken monarchy. Critics of the established narrative by contrast argue that Siam/Thailand bore many similarities to neighboring satellites of the Western powers that subordinated traditional authority and hence was a “semi-colony” of the West rather than a truly independent state. This paper argues that the semi-colonial view remains a better frame to study modern Thai history and that semi-coloniality produced a hybrid political culture among an educated new generation born around 1900. The young generation forged the popular struggles that after the 1932 end of the absolute monarchy sought to build a more fair and equitable society. These aspirations and the hybrid political culture of the time are a crucial but often overlooked part of modern Thai history.