ABSTRACT
Since its overthrow of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had an astonishing democratic transition record: it has had more transitions to democracy than any other Asian country. It has also had more transitions away from democracy in the same period. While something of a joke, this highlights the fact that Thailand’s widely anticipated democratic consolidation has repeatedly been confounded. But as the twentieth century ended, as a new constitution was implemented and the military weakened, there was increased confidence that the “consolidation process” had advanced so far that a “reversal of the democratic trend [seemed] increasingly unlikely” (Suchit 1999: 68).1
