Coup Atlas Research Database
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80011101952ConspiracyDissident coup

Thailand, 1952 — dissident coup conspiracy

Thailand (THA)Southeast Asia, AsiaNovember 10, 1952

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a foreign-backed dissident coup conspiracy in Thailand on 10 November 1952, corresponding to the government's announcement that month of the discovery of a communist plot against it. Under the Phibun-Phao-Sarit triumvirate, the police announced in November 1952 the discovery of a communist plot and began a series of arrests focused heavily on the ethnic Chinese community, closing many Chinese schools and banning Chinese associations. The campaign against communists, with its anti-Chinese emphasis, gathered momentum throughout 1953.

Thailand under Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram was a staunch Cold War ally of the United States, recognizing Taiwan and sending troops to the Korean War, and the alleged communist plot fit the regime's anti-communist framing, consistent with the dataset's foreign-backed coding. The government used the announced plot to justify repression rather than facing an executed coup attempt.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The Phibun government used the announced communist plot to justify a wave of anti-communist and anti-Chinese arrests
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram (prime minister of Thailand)
General Phao Siyanon (police director general driving the arrests)
Ethnic Chinese community (principal target of the crackdown)

Sources

In November 1952 the police announced the discovery of a communist plot against the government and began a series of arrests of Chinese, closing many Chinese schools and banning Chinese associations.
SOURCE REVIEWED GlobalSecurity, November 1951 Coup open source ↗
The campaign against communists, with its anti-Chinese emphasis, gathered momentum throughout 1953.
SOURCE REVIEWED Facts and Details, Military Rule in Thailand After World War II open source ↗
The establishment of a communist regime in China in 1949 caused Phibunsongkhram to fear the spread of communism and to carry out measures directed against the Chinese community.
SOURCE REVIEWED Britannica, Thailand: The postwar crisis open source ↗
Phibun's traditional anti-communist position led Thailand to recognize Taiwan, send troops to the Korean War, and join SEATO in 1954.
SOURCE REVIEWED Facts and Details, Military Rule in Thailand After World War II open source ↗

Editorial Note

The coded 10 November 1952 matches the government's November 1952 announcement of a discovered communist plot, which triggered a wave of anti-communist and anti-Chinese arrests. The foreign-backed coding reflects the alleged communist external backing. Documented as an announced/alleged plot used to justify repression rather than an executed coup. Continues the Thailand run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
80011101952

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Phibun government used the announced communist plot to justify a wave of anti-communist and anti-Chinese arrests.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

New York Times

“STIFF ANTI-RED BILL ADOPTED IN THAILAND,” November 14, 1952

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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