The Constitutions of the Kingdom of Thailand: Elite-Constructed Constitutions (1932-1974)

Thai constitutional history is characterised by cyclic coups and multiple constitutional promulgations. In my thesis, I argue that the dominant conception of constitution-making, which posits that constitutions are constructed through the exercise of “the people’s” constituent power and must be adopted through democratic processes, is insufficient in explaining the history of Thai constitutional development. The thesis argues that Thai constitutional history needs to be explored through what I will call ‘the elite-constructed constitution approach’.

This thesis elaborates on the elite-constructed constitution approach. It is supported by political science literature concerning political elites’ role in politics. Legal literature on the role of political elites in the constitution-making process is also used to structure an understanding of the constitution as a contract resulting from the negotiations of political elites in the constitution-making process. The contract’s primary purpose is to serve political elites’ interests. In order to assess the efficacy of the elite-constructed constitution approach to explain Thai constitutional history, I applied this framework to examine the constitution-making processes and resulting constitutions from 1932 to 1974. This period is significant as it marks the beginning of written constitutionalism in Thailand (1932), and the first instance in which ordinary citizens were able to genuinely influence a constitution-making process in 1974. The study’s findings suggest that most constitutions created during this period were elite-constructed in nature, meaning they were designed to serve political elites’ benefit and were dependent upon elites’ willingness to maintain them. Only the Constitution of 1974 that emerged from the process that did not fully conform to the specific criteria of an elite-constructed constitution. This constitution displayed characteristics that were a blend of the dominant conception of constitution-making and the elite-constructed constitution approach.

The study suggests that the elite-constructed constitution approach explains Thailand’s constitutional evolution from 1932 to 1974. However, further research is necessary to determine its applicability to the country’s entire constitutional development, including post-1974 constitutions. Additionally, it is essential to investigate whether this approach can elucidate the constitutional development of other nations beyond Thailand.