The TLDR: We Indians mainly view Thailand as a pleasant and cheap travel destination—to be referred to alongside giggly jokes about Bangkok. But the country is in the midst of unprecedented and widespread pro-democracy protests that challenge its increasingly authoritarian king. We explain what’s happening and why it matters.

The basic deets

To get started, all you need to know is the following:

• Thailand has a constitutional monarchy like the UK—where the king is the titular ruler but has little political power… at least on paper.
• For most of its history, the nation has been under military rule—interspersed with brief periods of democratic leadership.

There have been fierce protests in the past—almost always led by students. But the government has always managed to clamp them down.

The two kingpins

Two powerful men are the target of this popular uprising: The king and the general.

The King: 

• The current King Maha Vajiralongkorn has long been considered deeply unsuitable for the job—but won out simply because he was the only male heir when his father died in 2016. 
• He’s managed to run through three wives, and the fourth and current wife is a former Thai Airways flight attendant, Suthida—who he appointed as his chief bodyguard. 
• The King spends most of his time outside the country—primarily in Germany, where he spent the great part of the pandemic holed up in a luxury hotel with his 20 concubines.
• He is one of the wealthiest monarchs in the world with a net worth of $40-plus billion. In comparison, the Queen of England is worth a paltry $500 million.

The General: 

• Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was the commander-in-chief of the Thai army in 2014—when he staged a military coup and took power. 
• In 2017, the military introduced a new Constitution, which allowed it to appoint a 250-member Senate that plays a key role in selecting the prime minister.
• This came handy in 2019, when Thailand finally held free elections. Even though the leading opposition party won the most seats, the military-controlled Parliament appointed Chan-ocha as PM.

Point to note: The royal family and the military have always been like “siamese twins”—where “one can’t breathe without the other." But that relationship has now become a lightning rod for public rage. As Mint notes:

“Thailand is caught in a quagmire between a monarch unable to even make a show of yielding power and a military that has for generations believed that the spoils of the office must come its way, leaning on the king for its legitimacy.”

The trigger

The current uprising was triggered by two events this year:

One: In February, the pro-democracy Future Forward Party (FFP)—with its popular leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit—was dissolved after a court found it had taken an illegal loan. FFP came third in the 2019 election but is hugely popular with young Thais—many of whom voted for the first time in 2019. People took to the streets, but the protests died down due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

Two: In June, prominent pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit—who was living in Cambodia in exile since 2014—was grabbed off the street and has since disappeared. This was the proverbial last straw, and the protesters have flooded the streets ever since.

The protesters

There’s been a lot written about the protests, but here are the three key characteristics that make it unique:

One: The protesters are overwhelmingly young. They refuse to simply submit to authority—and that has put them at odds with their own parents who support the government. This is not just a political conflict but also a generational divide.

Two: These are the first protests to directly challenge the king—in a country where royalty is considered sacrosanct. As per the laws, anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent will be imprisoned anywhere between three to 15 years.

Three: The movement is decentralised and leaderless—much like the Hong Kong protests. And the protests have gained huge traction on social media for using pop culture references to make their point. Example, the three-fingered salute from Hunger Games—which is often flashed at the king to mock his entitlement:

The latest development

The protests reached a new peak as the Thai parliament convened to consider its demands. At least 10,000 people marched in the streets, and it marked the worst day of violence. At least 55 were injured in confrontations with the police.

But the parliament showed little sign of budging. After considering various proposals from the government, opposition and the people, the outcome was negligible: 

“Two proposals were adopted that would allow for discussion of constitutional change without affecting the monarchy. A drafting committee is to be set up after these motions are endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.”

The bottomline: It is unlikely that these protests will lead to radical change in Thailand. But they may move the needle just a little. As the king himself put it: “Thailand is the land of compromise."

Reading list

The Guardian reports on the latest protests, while CNN has the limited reforms approved by parliament. BBC News has a long read on the youth rebellion, their innovative tactics—and links to the Hong Kong protesters. The Hindu has a very good and detailed explainer on Thailand’s political history. The best analysis and overview: Rahul Jacob in Mint.