Thailand’s Buddhist Kingship in the 20th and 21st Centuries

<p>Based on two decades of fieldwork including over a hundred interviews with various political and economic actors at different social levels as well as documentary and media analysis this volume presents an account of the Buddhist monarchy in Thailand offering a sociology of elites an analysis of the economic influence of the Crown and an examination of the magic and ritual dimension of kingship. An exploration of the role and status of the Palace over the last century whether as a guarantor of democracy a symbol of stability a source of power or an object of popular discontent <i>Thailand’s Buddhist Kingship in the 20th and 21st Centuries </i>will appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology with interests in material religion politics and Southeast Asian studies.</p>