Eight Decades of the Siamese Revolution
By Thanet Aphornsuvan
"History is constructed from the present." This widely acknowledged truth serves as the sobering foundation of this volume.
It is an undeniable reality that history is often the curated memory of the victors, the powerful, and the elite. For many, it is simpler to accept these manufactured destinies without question—to live within the comfort of a pre-packaged past. Yet, as Thanet Aphornsuvan illustrates, when history is hollowed out, decorated, and distorted, we risk becoming silent accomplices in the construction of a "New Truth" that serves only to maintain the status quo.
Thai politics remains ensnared in an inescapable cycle, where the citizenry is relegated to the sidelines of power struggles between elites. The Thai people remain ideologically imprisoned by what Pridi Banomyong aptly termed the "Vestiges of Ancient Perspectives."
Eight Decades of the Siamese Revolution is a collection of seven seminal essays that analyze the trajectory of Thai democracy since the transformative revolution of 1932. Aphornsuvan argues that a rigorous re-examination of this history is not merely an academic exercise, but a fundamental necessity for the survival of democracy. By reclaiming the narrative of the revolution, this book seeks to open a new intellectual space—one that aligns the development of Thai democracy with historical reality rather than elite mythology.
// Table of Contents //
Preface | Thanet Aphornsuvan
1. Has the Democratic Revolution in Siam Truly Failed?
2. Towards the Spirit of the "October Movement"
3. Humanity: On Fear, Intellect, and Liberation
4. The Historical Role of the Constitution in the Thai Democratic System
5. Safeguarding the Spirit of "October 14" according to Pridi Banomyong
6. Reflecting on Rebellions, Revolutions, and Coups d'État in Siamese-Thai Politics
7. Eight Decades of the Siamese Revolution: Conceptions of Democracy in Transition
Details
▪️Format : Paperback
▪️Piyavit Tepumnuaysakul : Editor
▪️Designed by ● SM STUDIO | Pratompong Namjaidee ●
▪️Published : March 2013
▪️Length : 152 pages
▪️ISBN : 978-616-7196-220
▪️Dimensions (in) : 5.25 x 8.25
▪️Price : 150 THB
