Abstract:

Thailand and Japan are the two largest monarchies in Asia. Both are constitutional monarchies and democracies where their respective monarchies are “above politics.” The monarchies in these two countries are largely popular and respected. But they are different in one key way: Japan’s monarchy persists despite being perhaps the only monarchy in the world today with no lèse-majesté law. Meanwhile, Thailand, with a very-much active lèse-majesté law, finds itself amidst a continuing political crisis of which the monarchy is a part.

In the run-up of World War Two, Japan hosted the richest concentration of lèse-majesté cases of the 20th century. So far, Thailand is host to the 21st century’s record high lèse-majesté cases. From 1936 to 1944, Japan saw an almost 1,800 persons arrested for the crime whereas in Thailand from 2005 to 2011 has seen almost 1,000 charges brought for prosecution in the lower court for lèse-majesté.

A comparison of the lèse-majesté record in these two nations illuminates our understanding of the pre-war Japanese legal and ideological constructs and Thailand’s present practices and tribulations. What can we learn about key aspects of the pre-war Japanese state and the present-day Thai state by comparing statistics of those charged with lèse-majesté, the practices and adjudication of courts, and the strategies used by defendants? What do the lèse-majesté experiences of these two countries tell us about the tension between democracy and authoritarianism in constitutional monarchies? And what have been the effects of the eventual resolution of the lèse-majesté issue in Japan, and what lessons can be learned for Thailand’s future? How has each country’s experience with the law affected its politics and its own take on democracy?

Speaker:

David Streckfuss received his Ph.D. in Southeast Asian history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has since lived in Thailand where he has directed a community-based study abroad program at Khon Kaen University for twenty years. His book, Truth on Trial in Thailand, was published by Routledge in 2011.

At CSEAS he has been working on an article covering Japan’s historical experience with lèse-majesté and writing a book that examines monarchy and lèse-majesté in the modern world. A historical section looks at lèse-majesté in Imperial Germany and Japan. Another section compares present practices of lèse-majesté, with a special emphasis on European monarchies. A final section places Thailand’s lèse-majesté experience into this historical and comparative framework