At the dawn of the nations

Norway and Thailand are two countries with different political systems and geo-historical backgrounds. While Norway, renowned for its welfare state, is a parliamentary democracy system with a constitutional monarchy, Thailand, the Land of the Free,  has a record of accumulated coups and is currently under a military-backed government. In the following lines, using the geo-historical framework, this essay will discuss the forms of government of Norway and Thailand and draw a parallel on how they are similar but differ tremendously through their structures and political history.

Although Norway is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, it has a unitary parliamentary government where power is divided between the legislative branch, the Storting, and a judicial branch with the king being symbolic entity and the prime minister and the cabinet detain more power. Historically, it was not until 1905 did Norway become a sovereign state after having been in a union with Sweden for almost a century. Before this, however, it became a state through procedures of consolidation and unification in the 9th century during the rulership of Harald Fairhair. Whereas Thailand, is a unitary and parliamentary democracy with a more limited politcal power structure and welfare provisions. Its constitutional monarchy serves as a focal point that unifies people from various backgrounds through immense sense of pride for being Thai. 

However they may differ in terms of political stability and practices, both Norway and Thailand put an emphasis on social welfare and education as a top priority. Additionally, the Norwegian nation-state qualifies as such because of its distinct homogenous population and strong Norwegian nationalism and cultural heritage. These attributes have play a pillar role in the government that prioritizes provision services and citizen engagement. Likewise, Thailand has a history of military interventions and instability that has made it challenging to establish a stable democratic form of government. However, contrary to Norway, there are more ethnic minorities in Thailand, which from a civic perspectives is a strength for international relations since it opens doors to a culture promoting and protecting minority rights and fosters cultural diversity and diplomacy. 

Overall, both states are similar in the types of government they have despite their history. Where Norway is reputable for being a welfare nation-state, Thailand continues to take strategic initiatives that solidify its policies and state-ness.

Sources

1. History of Norway. (2023, May 21). In Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Norway
2. “ Thailand in brief.” Royal Thai Embassy, https://thaiembdc.org/about-thailand/thailand-in-brief/.
3. “Film om korleis Noreg styres – regjeringen.no.” Regjeringen.no, 14 January 2019, https://www.regjeringen.no/en/the-government/the-government-at-work1/the-government-at-work1/id2564958/. 
4. Madsen, Michelle. “The Story of the Denmark-Norway Union.” Life in Norway, 11 January 2022, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/denmark-norway-union/.