Peace and Murder in Cold War Thailand
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10909216 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arjun Subrahmanyan (0000-0003-1677-1670, Murdoch University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00472336.2026.2642158 |
| OpenAlex | W7147156481 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
It is well known that authoritarians have frequently stifled democracy movements in modern Thailand, and that impunity for murder is a long-standing privilege they have exploited to crush dissent. Less understood is that the tyrants often react out of weakness rather than strength, and fear instead of calm, when faced with strong opposition. This article examines the murders of several men in the late 1940s and early 1950s that resulted from the “Peace Rebellion,” a protest against a growing despotism that shook the government. It argues that Thailand’s young democratic movement at that time threatened a military junta by embodying a moral-political legitimacy the government lacked, one based on social welfare and independent foreign policy.
Atonement · Cold war · Democracy · Democratic legitimacy · Government (linguistics) · Impunity · Legitimacy · Privilege (computing) · Asian Studies and History · Military History and Strategy · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |