ABSTRACT
The practice of public administration in Thailand is a product of a long evolutionary process dating back at least 800 years. It is a mix of five systems of public administration that were designed by five “masters” of the Thai bureaucracy. These “masters” are: kings, military elites, politicians, big businessmen, and citizens. While each new master tries to implement his own version of public administration, the legacies of past public administrations with their own traditions, culture, and values linger on. Therefore, the present public administration in Thailand manifests characteristics of all five systems of public administration (see Appendix A for a chronological development of public administration in Thailand).
