Administrative reform advisory committees under military regimes in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand has experimented several times with democratic government since the advent of a Constitutional Monarchy in 1932. On each occasion democratic civil rule has been terminated by militarists ostensibly impatient with the indecisiveness or instability of the fledgling government and anxious to exert firmer control on the nation's business. In 1958 a junta headed by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat took power with national development featuring prominently in their declared policy. Maladministration of the Civil Service was seen by Sarit as a barrier to the achievement of development goals; to overcome this problem he took steps toward reform of public administration. As the major instrument for this purpose, advisory committees were established with charters to examine the structure, operation and purposes of the Civil Service and to report on reforms which might be beneficial to the government's targets for national development. This pattern of administrative reform in Thailand has continued as each military regime since Sarit's has appointed similar advisory committees. Show more