Authoritarian Government: From the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to the Government in the Robes of Democracy

Abstract

This academic article was utilized a critique of the political economy as an analytical framework which the results could be summarized as follows: (1) The people who worked behind the scenes of the power establishment of the authoritarian government (2014 - 2019) was the conservative alliance elite network in Thai society, consisting of the conservative elites, government elites, military elites, corporate monopolies, urban middle classes, and political entrepreneurs, together creating political conditions to legitimize the coup. (2) After seizing power, there was no national reform, as claimed by the authoritarian government. All were fraudulent people and an illusion to justify the coup. (3) The authoritarian government had inherited power through democratic rules and got into power in the rule under the 2017 constitution with the Palang Pracharath Party as the main driving mechanism after the election, 24 March 2019, by cooperating with the political business capital group, local godfathers and the strong support from the senators until successfully established the government. (4) The authoritarian government used political influence to control all major political mechanisms. Hence what the government could not control at all was the faith from the people because of the use of the power of the government that gave only the advantage to the network, conservative elites, and politicians. The government considered only the status of security in one's own power despite the living of people and the poor people live hand to mouth.