“AMERICA, THE GREAT FRIEND”? REANALYZING THAILAND-U.S. RELATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Author
Sunkamaneevongse, Jessica
Date
12Advisor
Leavitt, Sandra R.
Glosny, Michael A.
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Thailand and the United States have mutually benefited from 200 years of relations (since 1818) that strengthened during the Cold War and Vietnam War eras through their long-term alliance, security cooperation and economic engagement, and eventual U.S. assistance to Thailand’s democratization. Though the United States was once tolerant of Thailand’s frequent coups d’état, there is a common perception that relations were significantly damaged after the military-led coups in September 2006 and May 2014. U.S. criticism led Thai state leaders to rebuke U.S. interference in Thai politics and question whether the U.S. remains a true ally and friend. This thesis questions these assumptions by systemically assessing and analyzing military, economic, and diplomatic sectors of the relationship from 2001 to 2019. It examines the effects of the coups through systematic analysis of qualitative and quantitative data to understand how these coups and other events impacted the relationship. The main findings are that despite U.S. criticism and sanctions following the coups, the countries still maintained significant cooperation—particularly in the strategic and economic realms. But, since U.S. sanctions and criticism led Thai leaders to question U.S. commitments, Thailand hedged by deepening economic and strategic relations with China. Thailand’s actions support theoretical arguments that Southeast Asian countries tend to hedge between great powers rather than balance or bandwagon.
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