A Study On How King Bhumibol Has Been Maintaining His Political Power For A Long Time

In 1932, a military coup came in Thailand and followed by the ending of the absolute monarchy. Under the leadership of the People Party and military elites, Thailand entered the age of constitutional monarchy. The new political system was established on the basis of the constitution and provided a good political basis for the modernization of Thailand.However, during the following decades, the modernization of Thailand has undergone a tortuous road. The military group has interfered with the civil governments frequently,caused bad influences on the economic development in Thailand and made the historical process of this country unstable and discontinuous.As a king under democratic system, Bhumibol Adulyadej has strong influence on Thailand politics. Taking advantage of the traditional royalty to authority among Thai people and the power conferred by constitution, Bhumibol Adulyadej interferes with many important political affairs, mediates the conflict between the army and the civil officials to restore social order and comfort the people. He also has done many hands-on works for the agricultural development and the welfare of the lower class people to reduce their discontents to the upper class. He is also a great thinker in his country and provides many guiding concepts to Thai people, such as peaceful dialogue for political conflict,sufficiency economy and following the Buddhist teachings.As the final arbiter of the political situation and other important domestic affairs,King Bhumibol chooses to interfere or not to interfere these affairs based on his ideas,wisdom and situation judgment and retains many substantial power to the maximum for himself under constitutional monarchy. But the King Bhumibol’s substantial power has undermined the constitutional system and has hindered the improvement of the political system and caused a series of abnormal events for decades in the modernization process in Thailand. With a historical approach, this paper tries to research the reasons why King Bhumibol can retain some substantial powers under constitutional monarchy, the effects when he uses these powers, his role in the modernization process in Thailand and the future of the Thai constitutional monarchy.