泰國軍事政權的威權轉型與正當性

Abstract

回顧泰國自1932年實施君主立憲至今的政治史可以發現，泰國政治長期都由軍人所控制，軍隊發動政變干預政治更塑造泰國獨特的惡性循環，而最近一次的政變則發生於2014年5月22日，然而軍方這回在從文人政府手中奪取執政權後，並未立即舉行國會大選，而是帶領泰國進入長達五年的軍隊威權統治，直到2019年3月24日才正式舉行選舉，在軍政府統治期間，泰國也在2016年10月面臨九世皇蒲美蓬的逝世。 文人政府、軍隊及泰王一直是影響泰國政局的主要行為者，本文將先從三大行為者的特徵及權力變化來介紹泰國政治史，闡述長期領導泰國政治的軍隊其政權正當性來源，最後以2014年政變至2019年國會大選為主要觀察期，探討2014年政變後，以帕拉育為首的軍政府是如何透過新憲法、選舉制度等其他制度變革，重新樹立軍隊的政治權力，使得軍政府最終得以民主選舉為外衣，成功轉型並延續執政權。

The Military intervention in 1932 has transformed the system of government in Thailand from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarch, but resulted in the vicious cycle of Thai politics between military dictatorship and civil government. On the evening of 22 May 2014, General Prayut launched a coup d'état against the civil government and seized the control of the government. However, the military government didn’t hold the election after the coup but instead repeatedly delayed the election date, and finally, won the election in 2019. To explore the authoritarian transition and legitimacy of Thai military rule, I will demonstrate this paper into three parts. In the first part, I will clarify the characteristics of three influencial actors, the military, the civil government, and the king, and explain the power transitions among them. In the second part of this paper, I will focus on the military governments and sequentially explain how the military government resorts to political legitimacy. And in the last part of this paper, I will explore how the military authoritarian government in Thailand transforms and successfully strengthens its governance through institutionalization. Though the result of Thailand 2019 general election gives the military government a strong support, the 2017 Constitution and the rule of military general still put Thai democracy into an uncertain future.