DOCUMENT RESUME ED 059 143 SO 002 42 9 AUTHOR Henderson, John W.; And Others TITLE Area Handbook for Thailand. INSTITUTION American Univ. ,Washington, D.C. Foreign Area Studies. REPORT NO DA Pam-550-53 PUB DATE 7 1 NOTE 4 1 1p.; supersedes DA Pam 550-53, Sept 1969 AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Of fice, Washington, D.C. 2040 2($3.25) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Area Studies; Asian History; Communism; Cultural Context; Demography; *Developing Nations;Economics; *Foreign Culture; Foreign Relations; Geography; Governmental Structure; Guides; History; Institutions; Military Organizations; Religion; Sino Tibetan Languages; Social Structure; Social Systems; *Thai; Values IDENTIFIERS Educational Systems; *Thailand ABSTRACT Changing conditions and events in Thailand required that a third edition of this area handbook incorporating currentdata be published. It is a compilation of basic facts written with military and other personnel in mind. An analytical appraisal of social, economic, and political aspects is provided withemphasis on the interaction of these societal elements in an attempt to conveyto the reader an understanding of people and country. Achapter describing the national defense and internal security isincluded. Additional features offered are a concise country data summary, glossary, index and an extensive classified bibliography.Related documents are SO 002 053 through SO 002 058, and SO 002 428.(SJM) -PERMISS*N TO REPRODUCE T HIS COM' RIGHTED MATERIAL BY MICROFICHE ONO' HAS BEEN GRANTED BY S!..42triALINtitAk_L-Vb0CAIIMAS Ti ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WIT H THE U S OFFICE OF EDUCATION FURTHER REPRODUCTION QUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PER MISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER AREA HANDBOOK for THAILAND Co-Authors John W. Henderson Helen A. Barth Judith M. Heimann (1) Philip W. Moeller Rinn-Sup Shinn Francisco S. Soriano John 0. Weaver Eston T. White Research and writing were completed November 1970 Published 1971 (This pamphlet supersedes DA Pam 550-53,September 1968) DA Pam 550-53 1 Library of Congress Catalog CardNumber: 72-611403 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office Washington, D.C. 20402Price $3.25 FOREWORD This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient com- pilation of basic facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions and practices of various countries. The empha- sis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as limitations on space and research time per- mit. It was compiled from information avaihble in openly pub- lished material. An extensive bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not represent the official view of the United States government. An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, interpre- tations, and conclusions are subject to modification in the light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions, and suggestions for factual, interpretive, or other change as readers may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be addressed to: The Director Foreign Area Studies The American University 5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016 PREFACE Swiftly moving events in Southeast Asia have brought many changes to Thailand within the last few years. This revision of the Area Handbook for Thailand has been prepared to take account of the altered scene. Intensification of the war in Indochina, expansion of the country's Communist-led insurgency, a new constitution and a new government, electoral reforms, rising prosperity, and many other developments have occurred largely or entirely since publica- tion of the last edition of this handbook. This is the third revision since its first publication in 1957. The original handbook was prepared under the chairmanship of Wendell Blanchard by the Washington Branch of Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), predecessor organization of the Foreign Area Studies of The American University. An earlier monograph prepared by HRAF in 1956 vas directed by Professor Lauriston Sharp and was .3dited by Dr. Flank J. Moore and Dr. Walter F. Vella. The 1957 handbook drew upon this beginning. The earlier study in turn drew extensively on the field notes and the first-hand knowledge of the members of the Southeast Asia Program of Cornell University. In 1963 the first revision of the 1957 handbook brought to the study the benefit of research and writing developed during the intervening six-year period. The second revision was published in 1968. This volume attempts to make the handbo3k current with 1970. Its purpose is to provide in a compact, convenient, balanced, and objective form an integrated exposition and analysis of the domi- nant social, political, and economic aspects of Thai society. It is designed to give readers an understanding of the dynamics of the component %?lementh of the society and an insight into the ideas and feelings of its people as well as the role of the country in the world around it. This revision has drawn heavily upon the 1968 version, which was prepared by a team headed by Harvey H. Smith. Other members were Donald W. Bernier, Frederica M. Bunge, Franc,,,s Chadwick Rintz, Rinn-Sup Shinn, and Suzanne Teleki. Readers will note some inconsistencies in the transliteration of Thai words, particularly names. Thai is written in a script of South Indian origin and has many more symbols than the roman alphabet. It is a tonal language, like Chinese, and it has some vowel and consonant sounds that have no precise equivalent in English. Mis- sionaries and other foreigners have used varying systems to translit- erate Thai syllables into English, relyingon close approximation to represent sounds. Some of these have received wideacceptance among Thai when using English for individual names, placenames, and similar words. More recently standard rules forthe conversion of Thai script into roman characters have beenpromulgated by the Thai government. Some ambiguity remains, and Thaiofficial publi- cations sometimes; choose to use romanized transcriptionsfor Thai words that are not in conformity with these rules. Thepractice in this book has been to follow, in mostcases, the spelling used in the Thai Official Yearbook, 1968 and other Thai officialpublications. Spelling of most place names has followed officialUnited States government maps and the Thailand Gazetteer of the Boardon Geo- graphic Names, United States Department of Interior,April 1966. In some cases romanized spelling in general internationaluse by English publications was usedeven though in conflict with local Thai usage. Thai has no indicator of the plural, andthe practice of rendering the plural of Thai words in English has varied.The word Thai, meaning an indigenous Thai language speaker,is here written the same for both singular and plural. Thesame practice is used for balit (the unit of currency) and most Thaiwords used in this book. Thai names are often preceded bya title indicating rank. Royal titles are comrnon1:: translated into equivalentEnglish termsfor example, king, queen, prince. Under the absolutemorarchy, until 1932, nonroyal official titleswere. granted by the kingfor in- stance, Chao Phraya, which is explained inthe Glossary of this handbook. These titles areno longer conferred, but persons granted such titles before 1932 retain theuse of them. Nai, meaning mister, is used by nonofficials. Aperson with official rank, civil or military, is commonly addresr,ed by his givenname prefixed by his title. Family names were introduced in thetwentieth century but are often omitted and are never used without the givenname. English usage in the revised edition follows Webster'sThird New International Dictionary (unabridged). Englishweights and mea- sures are used except that all tons are metric tons unless otherwise noted. vi 5 COUNTRY SUMMARY 1. COUNTRY: The Kingdom of Thailand, originally known as Sayam. Name changed in 1850s to Siam and so known until 1939, when title of Tnailand (land of the free) was adopted. Name re- verted to Siam from 1945 to 1949 then changed back again to Thailand. Capital is Bangkok. A kingdom throughout its history; has never experienced colonial rule. 2. GOVERNMENT: A constitutional monarchy, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej exercising nominal power. First constitution adopted in 1932 has been revised eight times; latest and present form adopted 1968. Acfual responsibility for public affairs central- ized in Council of Ministers, headed in 1970 by Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. The United Thai People's Party is the ruling political organization. 3. POPULATION: Estimated about 37.8 million. Annual growth rate 3.3 percent, expected to reach about 3.6 percent by 1980. Population density averages 177 per square mile but uneven and concentrated in Central Lowland Region. Population 87 percent rural. Composition. Predominantly ethnic Thai. Chinese