A Kingdom in Crisis

‘Perhaps the best introduction yet to the roots of Thailand’s present political impasse. A brilliant book.’
Simon Long, The Economist

Struggling to emerge from a despotic past, and convulsed by an intractable conflict that will determine its future, Thailand stands at a defining moment in its history. Scores have been killed on the streets of Bangkok. Freedom of speech is routinely denied. Democracy appears increasingly distant. And many Thais fear that the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is expected to unleash even greater instability.

Yet in spite of the impact of the crisis, and the extraordinary importance of the royal succession, they have never been comprehensively analysed – until now. Breaking Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law, Andrew MacGregor Marshall is one of the only journalists covering contemporary Thailand to tell the whole story.

Marshall provides a comprehensive explanation that for the first time makes sense of the crisis, revealing the unacknowledged succession conflict that has become entangled with the struggle for democracy in Thailand.

• Introduction: Telling the Truth About Thailand
  
• Part I: Royalty Versus Reality
  
  • 1. 'When the Legends Die, All Collapses' - Thailand's political awakening
  • 2. 'In a Never–Never Land, Never Mind' - Welcome to the Land of Smiles
  • 3. 'Cosmological Bluster' - The Dramatics of Despotism
• Part II: Thai–Style Democracy and its Discontents
  
  • 4. 'Our Country Belongs to the People - Not to the King': Thailand's Unfinished Revolution
  • 5. 'I Really am an Elected King' - The Royalist Revival
  • 6. 'There is Magic, Goodness and Power in His Heart' - The Deification of Rama IX
• Part III: The Secrets of Succession
  
  • 7. 'Endless Struggles for the Throne' - The Causes of Chronic Palace Conflict
  • 8. 'One Neither Walks, Speaks, Drinks, Eats, Nor Cooks Without Some Kind of Ceremony' - The Pleasures and Privations of Being King
  • 9. 'I Cannot Afford to Die' - The Tragedy of King Bhumibol
• Part IV: Crisis and Confrontation
  
  • 10. 'Living in Horrifying Times' - Twilight of the Oligarchy
  • 11. 'Coupmakers' Haunted Dreams' - Escalation and Enlightenment
  • 12. 'Returning Happiness to the People' - Denying Democracy, Sabotaging Succession
• Epilogue: 'Flip on the Lights and Flush out the Ghosts' - What the Future Holds