Thailand (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Thailand (Thai: ประเทศไทย Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaya, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and the British overseas territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Constitutional era (1932–38)
After his death in 1925, King Vajiravudh left the nation with a great debt due to his lavish spending and economic mismanagement. His younger brother, Prajadhipok, became the new king. Unlike Vajiravudh, Prajadhipok was inclined toward reforms and considered to create a constitution by himself. However, he remained to be hesitant in introducing radical changes albeit the growing public criticism. The prestige of the monarchy thus had suffered as the king was not able to take swift decisions during the crisis.

Meanwhile, a sense of discontent against the absolute monarchy had grown among young military officers, civil servants, and Western-educated intellectuals. In 1927, a group of seven Thai military and civilian students, including  Pridi Banomyong and Plaek Phibunsongkhram, met in Paris and plotted to end the absolute rule of the king. This group then founded the Khana Ratsadon (คณะราษฎร, "People's Party"). They planned to start a military coup against the government in Bangkok.

On June 24, 1932, the Khana Ratsadon seized the powers without any significant resistance. Albeit the advice from several senior princes to stage a counter-coup, Prajadhipok had decided to accept the Khana Ratsadon's demands. Two days later, the king gave a royal audience to the Khana Ratsadon and acquitted them for the coup against him. Prajadhipok eventually became the first constitutional monarch of Siam. On December 10, the first constitution of Siam was signed by the king and non-partisan Phraya Manopakorn Nititada was appointed as first Prime Minister.

Following the coup, the king was stripped of most his powers and privileges and lived in constant fear that the next confrontation with the Khana would lead to his and his queen's deaths. In October 1933, the royalists, led by Prince Boworadet, staged a counter-coup against the government and led Siam into small-scale civil war. Although there is no evidence that Prajadhipok gave any support to the rebellion, his neutrality and indecisiveness during the brief conflict led to the further loss of monarchy's credibility and prestige.

As the relationship between the king and government deteriorated, Prajadhipok decided to abdicate in 1935. The National Assembly of Siam then declared Prajadhipok’s nephew, Prince Ananda Mahidol, as his successor. Since Prince Ananda was still studying in Switzerland, Siam had no resident monarch for the first time in its history. The Council of Regency was appointed by the Assembly to act on the monarch’s behalf according to the constitution.

Phibun era (1938–44)
Following the Boworadet Rebellion, the young military officers gradually grew into prominence. The Khana Ratsadon was soon split into the military and civilian factions. The civilian group was led by Pridi Banomyong, the intellectual leader of the 1932 coup. The military one was led by General Plaek Phibunsongkhram who defeated the 1933 counter-coup. Pridi represented the left-wing of the party, while Phibun represented the right-wing. Despite their differences, the two groups cooperated with each other against the royalist opposition, up until World War II.

In 1938, Phibun took over as the posts of Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the commander-in-chief of the army at once. Under his rule, Siam was governed by an authoritarian military regime modeled after Fascist Italy. Phibun suppressed any opposition to his regime by arresting and exiling his political enemies and silencing the press. He also referred to himself as “the Leader” (ท่านผู้นำ than phunam) and elevated himself to the position equal to the monarch. In addition, Phibun appointed himself as the Field Marshal, a title previously been held only by the king.

Between 1939 and 1942, the government issued the cultural mandates (รัฐนิยม ratthaniyom) in order to further the modernization of Thai society and encourage the Thai nationalist spirit. The first mandate famously changed the country's name from "Siam" to "Thailand". These mandates encouraged all Thais to salute the flag in public places, know the new national anthem, and use the Thai language, not regional dialects. People were encouraged to adopt Western attires and the wearing of traditional skirts was discouraged.

World War II (1941–45)
Seeking support against France, Phibun cultivated closer relations with the Axis powers. Faced with American opposition and British hesitancy, Thailand looked to China for help in the confrontation with French Indochina. In 1941, Thailand had to accede to Chinese demands for access through the country for Chinese forces invading Burma and India. A mutual offensive-defensive alliance pact between the two countries was signed. The agreement gave the Chinese full access to Thai railways, roads, airfields, naval bases, warehouses, communications systems and barracks.

After several pressures from the Chinese, the Thai government joined the Axis and declared war on Britain in 1942. The Thai forces had been fought against the British forces in the invasion to the four northernmost kingdoms in British Malaya that had once been under Thai control (Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu) and sent its troops to aid Chinese military campaign to Burma.