Democracy, Shaken & Stirred
(ประชาธิปไตยบนเส้นขนาน - Pracha Thippatai Bon Sen Khanan)
Win Lyovarin

Democracy in Thailand was born in Paris, a lofty ideal hatched by a handful of intellectuals. When the People's Party propelled Thailand into a democracy in 1932, most Thai people were not ready for it. They saw it only as a power game that diminished their most revered king and gave carte blanche to bottomless corruption by people in power. The next sixty years saw Thailand going through more than fifteen changes of government, at least ten of them by force. The usually bloodless coups turned bloodbath the last couple of times, with atrocities that made world headlines.

In the wilderness at the border between Thailand and Laos, two men met fought a duel as deadly enemies. They both lived to become grudging friends, all the time walking the parallel lines of democracy : one sworn to topple and uproot corrupted governments, the other, while equally disgusted with the abusing of power, was duty bound to uphold their lawful authorities.

Their combined experiences give us tantalizing behind-the-scene glimpses into all the major rebellions and coups between 1933 and 1992. Win Lyovarin weaves fictional and real characters, fictitious and documented events into the colourful fabric of an historical novel of extraordinary power and perception.

Democracy, Shaken & Stirred won him the first of his two SEA Write Awards, the top accolade in South East Asia, in 1997. The book has now been included in the recommended reading list for students of Political Science in most universities in Thailand.

Thai Version (1994) - ISBN 974-85854-7-6
English Version (2003) - ISBN 974-91296-9-5

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This is a very interesting novel with two fictional characters which the author uses to tell Thailand’s recent coup history in an imaginative way.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Thailand’s politic history in the 20th century. It offers an introduction to the main players and key events.


its avialable at
asia books

if anyone knows where to get the thai copy please let me know