despite being a medium sized countr

despite being a medium sized country with an unstable political system Thailand has long been recognised for its practice of shrewd diplomacy which successfully served to maintain its independence throughout difficult periods in the country is history.
thai leaders demonstrated that the art of diplomacy was carefully crafted not only to defend their nation from all kinds of threat but also to raise the global thai profile as one of predominant players in mainland southeast asia.
In retrospect there are at least two major international events that put the art of thai diplomacy to the test: the colonial period and the second world war. these historical episodes allowed thai leaders to sharpen their diplomatic skills as they dealt with the out side world.
Siam the former name of thailand was the only country in southeast asia never to have been officially colonised by foreign powers. It was able to escape colonialism according to the majority of thai historians because of the resilience and flexibility of thai diplomacy buttressed by two factors
: its geographical position as a buffer state between britain and france and the far sightedness of king chulalongkorn the king apparently attempted to create a balance of power between two european nations by blurring the line of allegiance to make the kingdom somewhat independent equally sharp-witted diplomacy was continually practiced during the second world war when thailand succeeded in being on both sides the Axis and the Allies.
whereas the phibun songkhram Government formed an alliance with japan and declared war on the united states the thai ambassador in washington Seni pamoj, lent his support to the pro-allied free thai.
the king apparently attempted to create a balance of power between two european nations by blurring the line of allegiance to make the kingdom somewhat independent
equally sharp-witted diplomacy was continually practiced during the second world war when thailand succeeded in being on both sides the Axis and the Allies. whereas the phibun songkhram Government formed an alliance with japan and declared war on the united states the thai ambassador in washington Seni Pamoj, lent his support to the pro-allied free thai movement At the war end the free thai movement claimed to represent the real stance of wartime thailand an argument broadly accepted by the american. this reflected a rare feat of foreigh-policy flexibility through centuries thai leaders have prided themselves on a mastery of bamboo diplomacy.
As thailand entered another difficult period characterised by the ideological conflict of the cold war thai leaders resurrected the bending with the prevailing wind strategy to cope with changes in the country is foreigh affairs the fact that the united states came to thailand rescue at the end of the second world war and that it rapidly emerged as a super power leading the wastern world compelled thailand to endorse a pro-american foreigh policy.
internal and external circumstances reinforced thailand pro-american stance, ranging from the persistent military regimes at home to the outbreak of the communist threat in the neighborhood.
aligning with the united states in return, legitimise the role of the military in politics in which protecting national security represented the most quintessential goal in the conduct of thai diplomacy.