Bureaucracy under a Bureaucratic Polity
About sixty years ago, in 1932, a group of western-educated military and civilian bureaucrats overthrew absolute monarchy and replaced it with parliamentary monarchy. Political power changed hands from the king to the bureaucratic elites. The political arena moved from the king’s court to the bureaucracy. Bureaucratic elites were appointed as cabinet members and members of parliament. They became the new political heads of the Thai bureaucracy. The struggle for power was a struggle for high positions in the military among factions of the bureaucratic elites. To be the supreme commander of the armed forces was the best assurance for becoming prime minister.