Coup, King, Crisis: A Critical Interregnum in Thailand
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Yale University Southeast Asia Studies: 2020
.
The 2014 coup in Thailand happened during an interregnum between the reigns of King Bhumibol and King Vajiralongkorn. Coup, King, Crisis examines this royal transition, its relation to the coup and its impact on contemporary politics. The book argues that the army staged the coup primarily to control the royal succession.

Edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, this important and invaluable volume brings together fourteen prominent scholars on Thailand. It offers critical insights to those who wonder what went wrong with the kingdom, its politics and especially its monarchy.

In the introductory chapter, Chachavalpongpun highlights the main theme: Thailand had been trapped in ‘a dangerous interregnum during the transition from Bhumibol to Vajiralongkorn’. While the former was a popular and beloved monarch who represented political stability, moral authority and royal hegemony, the latter is struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps. While some contributors in the book follow this theme, others play down and even contest the idea of the dangerous interregnum. Instead, they position the royal succession in a larger historical context and argue that the crises of the kingdom were present long before the death of the old monarch and the accession of the new one.

• Tags: Issue 23, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Puangchon Unchanam, Thailand