Relations between Thailand’s army and king are becoming one-sided
The king has created his own crack unit and is expelling others from Bangkok
RIGID AND austere, King Chulalongkorn, the fifth monarch of Thailand’s Chakri dynasty, gazes across Bangkok’s Royal Plaza from a gleaming steed. The bronze statue is just one immovable legacy of the Thai monarchy. The mindset of the country’s armed forces is another. The king overhauled them late in the 19th century, founding a military and naval academy, creating a ministry of defence and indelibly associating them with the crown.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Changing of the guard”
Asia September 7th 2019
From the September 7th 2019 edition
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