Editing Thailand (section)

=== Contemporary history ===
{{main|History of Thailand (1973–2001)|History of Thailand (2001–present)}}
{{see also|South Thailand insurgency}}
Constant unrest and instability, as well as fear of a communist takeover after the [[fall of Saigon]], made some ultra-right groups brand leftist students as communists.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|548}} This culminated in the [[6 October 1976 massacre|Thammasat University massacre]] in October 1976.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|548–9}} A coup d'état on that day brought Thailand a new ultra-right government, which cracked down on media outlets, officials, and intellectuals, and fuelled the [[Communist insurgency in Thailand|communist insurgency]]. Another coup the following year installed a more moderate government, which offered amnesty to communist fighters in 1978.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 December 1982 |title=Thailand ..Communists Surrender En Masse |work=Ottawa Citizen |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2r4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ee8FAAAAIBAJ&dq=thai%20communists&pg=1189%2C1418196 |access-date=8 August 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401005725/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2r4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ee8FAAAAIBAJ&dq=thai%20communists&pg=1189%2C1418196 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fuelled by [[Indochina refugee crisis]], [[Vietnamese border raids in Thailand|Vietnamese border raids]] and economic hardships, [[Prem Tinsulanonda]] became the Prime Minister from 1980 to 1988. The communists abandoned the insurgency by 1983. Prem's premiership was dubbed "[[semi-democracy]]" because the Parliament was composed of all elected House and all appointed Senate. The 1980s also saw increasing intervention in politics by the monarch, who rendered two coups in [[1981 Thai military rebellion|1981]] and [[1985 Thai coup d'état attempt|1985]] attempts against Prem failed. In 1988 Thailand had its first elected prime minister since 1976.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Partial democracy and the search for a new political order |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52686 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323005841/https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52686 |archive-date=23 March 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

[[Suchinda Kraprayoon]], who was [[National Peace Keeping Council|the coup leader in 1991]] and said he would not seek to become prime minister,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asw |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Asw-11.htm |access-date=8 August 2023 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210000526/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Asw-11.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> was nominated as one by the majority coalition government after the [[March 1992 Thai general election|1992 general election]]. This caused a popular demonstration in Bangkok, which ended with [[Black May (1992)|a bloody military crackdown]]. Bhumibol intervened in the event and signed an amnesty law, Suchinda then resigned.<ref>{{Cite report |date=October 1992 |title=Thailand: The massacre in Bangkok |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa390101992en.pdf |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=8 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810080801/https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa390101992en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[1997 Asian financial crisis]] originated in Thailand and ended the country's 40 years of uninterrupted economic growth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warr |first=Peter |title=Thailand Beyond the Crisis |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge Curzon |isbn=978-1-134-54151-5}}</ref>{{rp|3}} [[Chuan Leekpai]]'s government took an [[IMF]] loan with unpopular provisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thailand Letter of Intent, November 25, 1997 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/112597.htm |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=imf.org |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102162353/https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/112597.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami]] hit the country, mostly in the south, claiming around 5,400 lives in [[Phuket]], [[Phang Nga]], [[Ranong]], [[Krabi]], [[Trang province|Trang]], and [[Satun]], with thousands still missing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-26 |title=Concerns arise over warning systems as Boxing Day marks 19 years since 2004 tsunami |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034141 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=nationthailand |language=en-US}}</ref>

The populist [[Thai Rak Thai party]], led by prime minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]], governed from 2001 until 2006. His policies were successful in reducing rural poverty<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thailand Economic Monitor, November 2005 |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTHAILAND/Resources/Economic-Monitor/2005nov-econ-full-report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902021039/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTHAILAND/Resources/Economic-Monitor/2005nov-econ-full-report.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2009 |access-date=19 February 2010}}</ref> and initiated [[universal healthcare]] in the country.<ref>Na Ranong, Viroj, Na Ranong, Anchana, Universal Health Care Coverage: Impacts of the 30-Baht Health Care Scheme on the Rural Poor in Thailand, TDRI Quarterly Review, September 2006</ref> However, Thaksin was viewed as a corrupt populist who was destroying the middle class in order to favour himself and the rural poor. He also faced criticism over his response to a [[South Thailand insurgency]] which escalated starting from 2004. Additionally, his recommendations to the rural poor directly conflicted with King Bhumibol's recommendations, drawing the ire of royalists, a powerful faction in Thailand. In response, the royalists made up a story about how Thaskin and his "advisors gathered in Finland to plot the overthrow of the monarchy". 

Meanwhile, massive protests against Thaksin led by the [[People's Alliance for Democracy]] (PAD) started in his second term as prime minister. Eventually, the monarchy and the military agree to oust the leader. In this case, the military first sought permission from the king to oust Thaksin, the permission was denied. But then, the king rejected Thaksin's choice to lead the army, allowing a military leader to be put into power who wanted the coup.<sup>1</sup> Then, the army dissolved Thaksin's party with [[2006 Thai coup d'état|a coup d'état in 2006]] and banned over a hundred of its executives from politics. After the coup, a military government was installed which lasted a year.'''<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Phongpaichit |first=Pasuk |date=December 2008 |title=Thailand: Fighting Over Democracy. |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=43 |issue=50 |pages=18–21 }}</ref>'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Connors |first=Michael K. |date=28 November 2008 |title=Thailand-Four elections and a coup |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10357710802480717 |url-status=live |journal=Australian Journal of International Affairs |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=478, 483–484 |doi=10.1080/10357710802480717 |issn=1035-7718 |s2cid=154415628 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811000243/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10357710802480717 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>
[[File:2010 09 19 red shirt protest bkk 09.JPG|thumb|right|[[United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship]], Red Shirts, [[2010 Thai political protests|protest]] in 2010]]
Coming back to democracy was a process that took very active participation of the people. The people frequently stormed government buildings and the military threatened yet another coup.'''<ref name=":2" />''' Finally, in 2007, a civilian government led by the Thaksin-allied [[People's Power Party (Thailand)|People's Power Party]] (PPP) was [[2007 Thai general election|elected]]. [[2008 Thai political crisis|Another protest led by PAD]] ended with the dissolution of PPP, and the [[Democrat Party (Thailand)|Democrat Party]] led a coalition government in its place. The pro-Thaksin [[United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship]] (UDD) protested both [[2009 Thai political unrest|in 2009]] and [[2010 Thai political protests|in 2010]], the latter of which ended with [[2010 Thai military crackdown|a violent military crackdown]] causing more than 70 civilian deaths.<ref>Erawan EMS Center, [http://www.ems.bangkok.go.th/report/totaldead7-6-53.pdf รายชื่อผู้เสียชีวิตจากสถานการณ์การชุมนุมของกลุมนปช.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306172538/http://www.ems.bangkok.go.th/report/totaldead7-6-53.pdf |date=6 March 2012 }}</ref>

After [[2011 Thai general election|the general election of 2011]], the [[Populism|populist]] [[Pheu Thai Party]] won a majority. [[Yingluck Shinawatra]], Thaksin's younger sister, became prime minister. The [[People's Democratic Reform Committee]] organised [[2013–2014 Thai political crisis|another anti-Shinawatra protest]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=PDRC leaders jailed for terrorism, insurrection over street rallies|work=Bangkok Post |date=24 February 2021 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2073863/pdrc-leaders-jailed-for-terrorism-insurrection-over-street-rallies |access-date=2024-01-03 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103121428/https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2073863/pdrc-leaders-jailed-for-terrorism-insurrection-over-street-rallies |url-status=live }}</ref> after the ruling party proposed an amnesty bill which would benefit Thaksin.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 November 2013 |title=Protests as Thailand senators debate amnesty bill |work=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/thailand-protests-amnesty-bill |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203121817/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/thailand-protests-amnesty-bill |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> Yingluck dissolved parliament and [[2014 Thai general election|a general election]] was scheduled, but was invalidated by the [[Constitutional Court of Thailand|Constitutional Court]]. The [[2013–2014 Thai political crisis|crisis]] ended with [[2014 Thai coup d'état|another coup d'état in 2014]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prasirtsuk |first1=Kitti |title=Thailand in 2014: Another Coup, a Different Coup? |journal=Asian Survey |date=2015 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=200–206 |doi=10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |jstor=10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |access-date=3 June 2024 |issn=0004-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The ensuing [[National Council for Peace and Order]], a military junta led by General [[Prayut Chan-o-cha]], led the country until 2019. Civil and political rights were restricted, and the country saw a surge in ''[[Lèse-majesté in Thailand|lèse-majesté]]'' cases. Political opponents and dissenters were sent to "attitude adjustment" camps;<ref name="Beech 2019">{{Cite news |last=Beech |first=Hannah |date=8 February 2019 |title=Thailand's King Rejects His Sister's Candidacy for Prime Minister |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/world/asia/thailand-prime-minister-princess.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213075249/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/world/asia/thailand-prime-minister-princess.html |archive-date=13 February 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> this was described by academics as showing the rise of fascism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=James |date=1 September 2021 |title=Thailand's new right, social cleansing and the continuing military–monarchy entente |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2057891120980835 |url-status=live |journal=Asian Journal of Comparative Politics |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=253–273 |doi=10.1177/2057891120980835 |issn=2057-8911 |s2cid=234182253 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118123729/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2057891120980835 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |access-date=18 November 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Bhumibol, the longest-reigning Thai king, [[Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej|died in 2016]], and his son [[Vajiralongkorn]] ascended to the throne. The referendum and adoption of Thailand's current constitution happened under the junta's rule.{{efn-lr|The [[2016 Thai constitutional referendum]] was held on 7 August 2016. Its ratification was held on 6 April 2017.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/06/522878983/thai-king-signs-military-backed-constitution Thai King Signs Military-Backed Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410100145/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/06/522878983/thai-king-signs-military-backed-constitution |date=10 April 2019 }}, [[NPR]], 6 April 2017</ref>}} The junta also bound future governments to a 20-year national strategy 'road map' it laid down, effectively locking the country into [[Guided democracy|military-guided democracy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Montesano |first=Michael J. |year=2019 |title=The Place of the Provinces in Thailand's Twenty-Year National Strategy: Toward Community Democracy in a Commercial Nation? |url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_60.pdf |url-status=live |journal=ISEAS Perspective |volume=2019 |issue=60 |pages=1–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913092250/https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_60.pdf |archive-date=13 September 2020 |access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref> 

In 2019, the junta agreed to schedule [[2019 Thai general election|a general election in March]].<ref name="Beech 2019" /> Prayut continued his premiership with the support of [[Palang Pracharath Party]]-coalition in the House and junta-appointed Senate, amid allegations of election fraud.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 2019 |title=Thailand election results delayed as allegations of cheating grow |publisher=ABC News|location=Australia |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-25/thailand-election-results-delayed-concerns-over-irregularities/10937910 |url-status=live |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326035848/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-25/thailand-election-results-delayed-concerns-over-irregularities/10937910 |archive-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> The [[2020–2021 Thai protests|2020–21 pro-democracy protests]] were triggered by increasing [[royal prerogative]], democratic and economic regression from the [[Royal Thai Armed Forces]] supported by the monarchy in the wake of the [[2014 Thai coup d'état|coup d'état in 2014]], dissolution of the pro-democracy [[Future Forward Party]], distrust in the [[2019 Thai general election|2019 general election]] and the current political system, forced disappearance and deaths of political activists including [[Wanchalearm Satsaksit]], and political corruption scandals,<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 2020 |title=Thai protesters stage biggest anti-government demonstration in years |publisher=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200816-thai-protesters-stage-biggest-anti-government-demonstration-in-years |url-status=live |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923205757/https://www.france24.com/en/20200816-thai-protesters-stage-biggest-anti-government-demonstration-in-years |archive-date=23 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 August 2020 |title=Thailand: youthful protesters break the kingdom's biggest political taboo |work=Financial Times|location=London |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2e921b6-ff7d-4432-b272-959bc4f9ecc5 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/e2e921b6-ff7d-4432-b272-959bc4f9ecc5 |archive-date=10 December 2022}}</ref> which brought forward unprecedented demands to reform the monarchy<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 2020 |title=[Full statement] The demonstration at Thammasat proposes monarchy reform |work=Prachatai English |url=https://prachatai.com/english/node/8709 |url-status=live |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820123613/https://prachatai.com/english/node/8709 |archive-date=20 August 2020}}</ref> and the highest sense of [[republicanism]] in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cunningham |first=Philip J |title=An unexpectedly successful protest |work=Bangkok Post |date=23 September 2020 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1990175/an-unexpectedly-successful-protest |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108024423/https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1990175/an-unexpectedly-successful-protest |archive-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

In May 2023, Thailand's reformist opposition, the progressive [[Move Forward Party]] (MFP) and the populist [[Pheu Thai Party]], won the [[2023 Thai general election|general election]], meaning the royalist-military parties that supported Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha lost power.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rasheed |first=Zaheena |title='Impressive victory': Thai opposition crushes military parties|publisher=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/14/thailand-election-results-what-we-know-so-far |access-date=1 September 2023 |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825090233/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/14/thailand-election-results-what-we-know-so-far |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 August 2023, [[Srettha Thavisin]] of the populist Pheu Thai party, became Thailand's new prime minister, while the Pheu Thai party's billionaire figurehead Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after years in self-imposed exile.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Srettha Thavisin elected Thailand PM as Thaksin returns from exile|publisher=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/srettha-thavisin-elected-thailand-pm-as-thaksin-returns-from-exile |access-date=1 September 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901094625/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/srettha-thavisin-elected-thailand-pm-as-thaksin-returns-from-exile |url-status=live }}</ref> Thavisin was later dismissed from his prime ministerial role on 14 August 2024 by the [[Constitutional Court of Thailand|Constitutional Court]] for his "gross ethics violations".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wongcha-um |first1=Panu |last2=Setboonsarng |first2=Chayut |date=August 14, 2024 |title=Thai court dismisses PM Srettha over cabinet appointment |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/judgment-day-thai-pm-srettha-court-rules-dismissal-case-2024-08-13/ |url-access=limited |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref>