When King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) ascended
the throne in 1925, the government was in serious
financial trouble. Thailand had suffered severely during
the deep global recession of the late 1920s and the Great
Depression of the early 1930s. However, because of
Thailand’s less intensive assimilation into the market
economy, and–for the majority of the population–a
much lower level of direct dependence on the export of
commodities generally, the adverse impacts of the
recession were mitigated in Thailand. During the 1920s
there was a movement against the monarchy. The
absolute monarchy was increasingly criticized and
depicted as a major barrier to Thailand’s development.
The economic difficulties and recession during this
period gave additional impetus to the movement against
the absolute monarchy (Dixon 1999, 59-61). On June
24, 1932 a coup d’état grasped power from the
monarchy. Two days later a constitution was
promulgated that reduced royal power to the absolute
minimum without actually abolishing the monarchy.
The ensuing period (1932-1938) was far from
politically stable: there was a second coup d’état in
1933, followed by elections in 1933, 1937 and 1938. In
1938 Field Marshal P. Phibun Songkhram became prime
minister