This volume seeks to illuminate how Thai elites have used democracy as an instrument for order and discipline. Drawing on interviews, numerous Thai language sources and critical theory, Michael Kelly Connors reveals an adaptation of the idea of democracy in the Thai context. He shows how elites have drawn on Western political theory to design projects to create modern citizens.

This revised and updated edition of the widely praised Democracy and National Identity in Thailand provides readers with a fascinating discussion of how debates about democracy and national identity in Thailand have evolved from the period of counter-insurgency in the 1960s to the current period. Focusing on state and civil society centered democratic projects, Connors uses original Thai language sources to trace how the Thai state developed a democratic ideology that meshed with idealized notions of Thai identity, focusing on the monarchy. The book moves on to explore how non-state actors...