Thai Nationalist
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Thai nationalism is a political ideology involving the application of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
to the political discourse of
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. It was first popularized by
King Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) 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 nationa ...
(Rama VI, 1910–1925), and was subsequently adopted and adapted by various leading political factions throughout the twentieth century.


History

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 Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...
(Rama IV, r. 1851–1868) and
Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
(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 Prince Tisavarakumara, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พà ...
and popularizing his views of patriotism. He ascribed the country to a trinity of " nation-religion-monarchy", concepts represented in the
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
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". Following the bloodless coup which abolished absolute monarchy in 1932 and the abdication of Vajiravudh's successor
Prajadhipok Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 â€“ 30 May 1941) 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 i ...
(Rama VII) in 1935, the rise to power of Prime Minister
Plaek Phibunsongkhram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...
(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 Major-General Luang (title), Luang Wichitwathakan (also known as just Wichit Wichitwathakan) (; zh, 金良) (11 August 189831 March 1962) was a Thai politician, diplomat, historian, novelist, and playwright. He is credited with changing the name ...
, the country's official name was changed from Siam to Thailand in 1939, and cultural mandates and reforms that aimed to define
Thainess 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 ...
were implemented to promote national assimilation of
Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese people are people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 million people livin ...
and other non-Thai-speaking minorities in a process known as
Thaification Thaification, or Thai-ization, is the process by which people of different cultural and ethnic origins living in Thailand become assimilated to the country's dominant culture:, that of central Thailand. Thaification was a step in the creation ...
. An
irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...
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. As national politics shifted to an anti-communist stance during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, Thai nationalism was again reframed during the prime ministership of
Sarit Thanarat Sarit Thanarat (also spelled Dhanarajata; ; born Siri (); 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai politician and military commander. He served as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (from 1954) and as Minister of Defense during ...
, 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 Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
(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.


21st century

In 2018 the Thai
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
created a "soft power" campaign called ''Thai Niyom'' ('Thai-ism') (; ) to reinforce the notion of
Thai exceptionalism Thai exceptionalism is the belief that Thailand is an exceptional country with an exceptional culture. This view is held by many Thais, particularly the elite. Among unique ideas held are that Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to b ...
. It includes "12 Core Values", reminiscent of the earlier
Thai cultural mandates The cultural mandates or state decrees (, ; ; ) were a series of twelve Edict, edicts issued between 1939 and 1942 by the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram during his first term as prime minister and military dictator of Thailand ...
. The campaign has been criticized by some academics as "mere state propaganda". In 2019, the rise of the
Future Forward Party The Future Forward Party (FFP; , ; otherwise known as 'New Future Party') was a social democratic and progressive List of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party from March 2018 to February 2020. The party was founded on 14 March 20 ...
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'' (; ) ('hating the nation' or 'anti-patriotism'), a new variant of "anti-Thainess". 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,..." 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." Prime Minister
Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...
, in early 2020, ordered the
Fine Arts Department The Fine Arts Department (, ) is a government department of Thailand, under the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is managing the country's cultural heritage. History The department was originally established by King Vajiravudh in 1912, split o ...
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 The Battle of Pork Chop Hill, known as Battle of Seokhyeon-dong Northern Hill ( zh, 石峴洞北山戰鬥) in China, is a pair of related Korean War infantry battles that took place on April 16 and July 11, 1953 while the United Nations Command ...
(1953) and the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, 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 The Battle of Ko Chang took place on 17 January 1941 during the Franco-Thai War. A flotilla of French warships attacked a smaller force of Thai vessels, including a coastal defence ship. The battle resulted in a tactical victory by the French Na ...
1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
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. The aim of the films is to "whip up a sense of patriotism" to help reduce conflict in society.


Views

The main points of Thai nationalism are: * A Thailand dominated by ethnic Thai * The Thai language as the sole official and state language * No or only limited immigration * Thailand as a political and economic power factor in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
* Loyalty to the Thai people, the state and the king *
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
as the dominant or even state religion * Thailand as the representative of all Tai peoples Since the 2000s, radical Thai nationalism has also been linked to
extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
Buddhist groups that act - sometimes violently - against Muslims, especially in the southern provinces. They see Buddhism as a national religion and a defining element of "Thainess".


Thaification

Thaification Thaification, or Thai-ization, is the process by which people of different cultural and ethnic origins living in Thailand become assimilated to the country's dominant culture:, that of central Thailand. Thaification was a step in the creation ...
is the government-led assimilation of all non-Thai (
Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...
, Khmer and
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
) and is closely linked to Thai nationalism. In 2018, the Thai government launched a new Thaiization project that promotes Thai nationalism and highlights "Thainess" as an important social aspect.


References


Further reading

* * {{Ethnic nationalism