The latest military coup d etat of September 16, 2006, which ended the longest period of a democratically elected civilian rule in the history of Thailand, constitutes a central moment of the prolonged political crisis in the country. In a differentiated depiction of the historical context and prelude to the coup, the most decisive political actors interests in and attitudes towards it, as well as their respective ideas about democracy as such, the present book not only provides a vivid picture of the inconsistencies and complexity of the political power struggles, but also offers an extensie analysis of the coup s impact on the nature and direction of the democratization process in Thailand.