A Study On The Changes Of Thai Foreign Policy From The Mid-19th Century To The Mid-20th Century

The global colonial expansion activities of European powers in the 19th century,on the one hand,disrupted Thailand’s independent development process,involved Thailand in the colonial system,and caused Thailand to suffer tremendously.On the other hand,the interaction with Western colonists enabled Thailand to accept the concept of a modern nation-state and international relations belonging to Europe in the reform of national salvation,which changed Thailand’s diplomatic thinking and behavior,and finally deeply influenced the Thai nation-state.The construction of and Thailand’s foreign policy thereafter.Therefore,the appearance and foreign policy of modern Thailand did not form itself from the very beginning,but gradually evolved in response to the challenges of the external world and through interactions with external powers such as China,Britain,France,and neighboring countries.Based on the research and analysis of Thailand’s modern history,this paper discusses the transition process of Thailand’s foreign policy from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1940s,aiming to discuss Thailand’s domestic and foreign policies in response to external challenges and Thailand’s foreign policy during this period.The evolution of foreign policy.This article is divided into the following sections:The first part introduces Thailand’s international communication environment before the change of foreign policy.There have been two regional international systems in the history of Southeast Asia—the local "mandala system" and the tributary system centered on China.They complement each other and together constitute Thailand’s international environment from ancient times to the early 19th century.The second part expounds that with the continuous expansion of Western colonial forces in Asia in the 19th century,Thailand is facing an increasingly serious territorial crisis in encountering and competing with foreign powers.The signing also made Thailand gradually lose its judicial sovereignty and become a semi-colony.This period became a turning point in the history of Thailand’s international relations.The local traditional international relations system began to disintegrate,and it continued to transform into the modern Westphalian system.The third part sorts out Thailand’s efforts to continuously adjust its foreign policy in response to the challenges of the great powers,divided into three aspects:Rama Ⅳ,Rama V’s reform,the use of balanced foreign policy,and royal nationalism propaganda.Thailand made modernization adjustments from the three aspects of diplomatic norms,diplomatic strategies,and internal propaganda,which enabled Thailand to achieve greater results with a relatively small national power and avoided the fate of becoming a colony.The fourth part expounds the process of Thailand’s diplomacy towards nationalism.Thailand launched the Treaty Amendment Movement,negotiated with Britain and France to determine the border,and exchanged sovereignty at the expense of border territories.It implemented official nationalist policies,and national consciousness at the social level began to awaken.Ultimately,Thailand allied with Japan in World WarⅡ and embarked on a path of sub-imperialist expansion under the Japanese order.