สำนักงานราชบัณทิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume IV - 2012 18  had been sentenced to death for arson and those who were spies and had committed various crimes in our country. 7 Due to the ease of twentieth century travel, a far more extensive royal tour was carried out by King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit in 1960 and 1962, far more extensive than the voyage to Europe of King Chulalongkorn in 1897. Both royal tours illustrate the importance of maintaining the sovereignty of a country, by being accepted as equal, by all the countries visited. In this regards the policy of pursuit of the ‘balance of power’, played a most crucial role. 3. The policy of the balance of power, cauchemar des coalitions 8 , in the time of the ‘Cold War’ It is vital to draw a comparison between the political situation in the reign of King Bhumibol, around 1960, and the situation at the end of the 19 th century, in the time of King Chulalongkorn, as a clue for a better understanding of the policy of the balance of power pursued by both Siamese Monarchs. The fi rst visit to Europe of King Chulalongkorn was not yet scarred by the two world wars of the 20 th century, Europe was still at the peak of its political, cultural, diplomatic, and military powers. Europe after World War II has changed tremendously. It would take the continent almost half a century to recover from the wounds in fl icted by these wars. Europe after World War II had changed tremendously and had experienced a new situation, due to the ideological con fl icts in the world. The war had had a huge effect a South-eastern Asian country, Thailand. In the eyes of these European nations, Siam at the turn of the last century under King Chulalongkorn, was a small country with relatively little political bargaining power and, unlike Japan, endowed with a weak military. Strategically and economically, it was much less important than either China or India. Yet, it was key to the success of France’s colonial ambitions to lay claim to the Indochina 7 In Memory of the State Visits of His Majesty the King, The Royal Compositions of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, footnote 5, p. 200-202. 8 It is known among the European historians that cauchemar des coalitions belongs to the politics of Frederich the Great of Prussia in 18th century. Queen Sirikit on Her Majesty’s State Visits in 1960 and 1962