After the Coup

Michael Montesano is Coordinator, Thailand Studies Programme, and Co-Coordinator, Myanmar Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Terence Chong is Deputy Director of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Senior Fellow in its Regional Social & Cultural Studies Programme. Mark Heng was formerly Research Officer in the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre and Regional Social & Cultural Studies Programme.

This highly acclaimed collection of scholars’ answers to basic questions about the political situation after the 2014 military coup in Thailand offers a comprehensive analysis of many crucial institutions and sensitive issues that no other work has touched. The book covers the intricate relationships among conflicting classes, political movements, the military, and, above all, the monarchy. It puts on the table many important debates about the crisis of democratization in the country, including the struggle of Malay-Muslims in Southern Thailand, the transformation of electoral violence, the dilemma of political decentralization, the changing roles of the media, and the impact of slowing economic growth and an ageing society on the future of Thailand.'- Kanokrat Lertchoosakul, Chulalongkorn University, author of The Rise of the Octobrists in Contemporary Thailand'After the Coup should be read by anyone interested in understanding the current state of Thailand’s political affairs, tracing the historical origins of the current challenges and conflicts, or looking for clues about what may be to come. This outstanding set of scholars explores how Thailand’s disparate collective identities are at the root of the current political and social conflict. These collective identities carry with them different visions of what it means to be ‘Thai’, what democracy is and how it should function, and the sources of political legitimacy. The chapter authors describe how those behind Thailand’s ‘ambitious coup’ have attempted to crush, co-opt, quell, and contain these competing visions.'- Allen Hicken, University of Michigan, author of Building Party Systems in Developing Democracies'Featuring a collection of essays authored by many of the field’s leading lights, expertly curated and edited by one of the most knowledgeable scholars in Thai Studies, After the Coup is a vital contribution to the study of contemporary Thai politics. The depth and sophistication of its analysis, and the variety of viewpoints represented, make it a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the significance of the events set in motion by the military coup staged in Thailand on 22 May 2014, one in crucial respects quite unlike the series of coups d’état that punctuate the country’s modern political development.'- Federico Ferrara, City University of Hong Kong, author of The Political Development of Modern Thailand'This book covers many of the most important current aspects of the Thai political problem, to help readers better understand why Thailand continues in its struggle to democracy. For example, it provides for a very insightful sense of an emergent middle class that has been one of the main obstacles in Thai democratic progress, both before and since the military coup d’état of 2014.'- Titipol Phakdeewanich, Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University.