No constitution can survive an authoritarian culture

JC Wilcox shook me from my apathy over the drafting of our 20th constitution. After personally experiencing almost all the coups in modern Thai history, I came to the conclusion ages ago that no constitution, even one drafted by the most eminent lawyers, can ever survive in Thailand’s political scene. Neither the ancient Greek principles explained so well by Mr Wilcox, nor the “7 Pillars” frequently cited by Burin Kantabutra, are relevant to our country. 

Ours is a society that believes that authoritarian power, backed by an arsenal, has ultimate authority over our political fate. Were Thailand to experience political turmoil on the scale currently occurring in Malaysia, the Army would use it as an excuse to intervene. In Malaysia the military has been successfully ousted from politics, so the troops stay in their barracks. In contrast, frequent coups have become an established Thai tradition. No matter how strong or fair our next constitution turns out to be, the absence in Thai politics of a spirit of fair play or honour in losing means it will be worth little more than the paper on which it is written. 

The only consolation is that life will go on regardless.

Songdej Praditsmanont