Thailand in 1984

Until the last two months of 1984, the year's events seemed to indicate an extremely fluid political situation. The prevailing current seemed to flow in favour of the country's highest ranking military leader, while eroding the support base of the ailing Prime Minister who, in turn, seemed to be overwhelmed by the military-parliamentary tussle which was symptomized by both groups each declaring their support for him. Inevitably, the tensions between the military and the cabinet as well as the military-parliament tensions with the accompanying tests of will spawned incessant rumours of cabinet reshuffles, changes in the composition of the present four-party coalition government, and of course, of impending coups. As events unfolded, it appeared as if the military had gained further ground in the political arena, and though the politically active soldiers did not push matters to the brink, it was expected that it would not be long before their political weight would have to be formally recognized and institutionalized, especially with regard to representation within the cabinet. However, within the military itself, not all was agreed upon. Shifts and re alignments of factions surfaced, working themselves into quite unexpected configurations. Onetime close partners, aides, allies and advisers seemed to have turned into rivals while in a concurrent process of mutation bitter enemies became vocal and visible allies

Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cambodian History and Society · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies