This week's class takes us to Thailand, an ancient kingdom that in all its years of being a unified nation never been colonized by Western powers -- the only country in Southeast Asia with that distinction. The Thai people are overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist (95%), almost 100% Thai speaking, though many also speak their own ethnic group's local language, and, by all public accounts, quite fond of the king, whose official title is, "Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths." 

For decades after the World War II the Thai military essentially ran the nation, with leadership changing hands through a succession of military coups. Democracy won out in the 1980s, enabling Thailand to rapidly industrialize, and rapidly build beach resorts for European tourists along its gorgeous coast. Thailand faced rough times in 1997 when the economy stopped booming, causing the value of the Thai currency to collapse and prompting an Asia-wide financial crisis. Thailand has since gotten back on its feet financially and has continued to grow, though political unrest is a constant threat.