Political History of the Democracy Problem in Thailand from 1932 to the Present

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the politics and Thai democratic movement. Although Thailand became a democratic country more than 84 years ago (1932), the problems of participation, political conflicts, and political unconsciousness are still clearly seen today. The attempts to bring the top-down into bottom-up democracy became a new approach in the Thai Constitution (2007) and the new Thai Constitution (2016). The Political Development Council and Local Organization Council acts have been established to support people's active involvement. People's participation has also been launched throughout the country. Both the best practices and the drawbacks of people's politics in the political movement toward democracy will be examined in the paper.