In comparison to its neighbours, Thailand has long given the impression of being a stable and unified country. Its monarchy has been seen as a vital force behind this stability, and when the Cold War ended the kingdom was expected to be a key driver of regional economic cooperation and a model for democratization in the region. However, the portrayal of Thailand in major foreign press outlets in this century has told a different story. It has depicted a country that has been in deep crisis since the coup d’état that overthrew the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006, with a solution still nowhere in sight. The coup that overthrew the Phuea Thai Party government in May 2014 swept away any fragile opportunity for Thailand carefully to build a functioning democracy.

Foreign press coverage of the leading players’ role in the conflict has changed, too. This change has been most evident in journalists’ increasingly frequent challenges to the long-accepted mainstream narrative of the Thai monarchy. Discussion of the role and objectives of traditional elites and of Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law began to appear more frequently, while news coverage of and op-ed articles on the royal institution became increasingly critical. The titles of articles in the foreign press that appeared after the 2006 coup themselves conveyed this newly critical tone towards the monarchy: “As Thai Monarchy's Power Wanes, King Still Revered” by the Associated Press (25 May 2010); “Thailand's King Sees His Influence Fading” in The New York Times (Mydans and Fuller 2010); “Thai Monarch Is a Factor in Dispute” in The Wall Street Journal (Wright 2014); “The King and Its Crisis: A Right Royal Mess” in The Economist (4 December 2008b); and “Thailand, A Coup, the Crown and the Two Middle Classes” in The Diplomat (Ünaldi 2014a).

While constructing itself in the image of traditional Buddhist-Brahmin kingship, the Thai monarchy has also presented itself as international and cosmopolitan. Since the era of King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910), the institution has deeply and openly concerned itself with its international image, with successive monarchs fashioning themselves according to European norms. Western-style etiquette, dress, habitation, patronage and pageantry have long since made their way into the Thai court and been on display in both the domestic and international arenas (Peleggi 2002).