Thailand has a beloved king. The country has had one of the more prosperous economies in Asia. It's a magnet for Western tourists. It's history is largely peaceful. By most measures, Thailand has been very successful, particularly in recent decades.
So why has the country now had a dozen coups, plus many more attempted coups, since it ended centuries of absolute monarchy and became a constitutional monarchy in 1932?
The country is so coup-prone that Wednesday's military takeover marked the second time in eight years the armed forces have ousted a leader from the same family.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was deposed Wednesday, suffered the same fate as her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in 2006. Both were considered political outsiders and viewed by suspicion by the Thai establishment, including the military.
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