To test the hypothesis of policing as a function of regime type, this chapter focuses on the evolutions of political policing in light of recent Thai political developments – as only political policing is expected to be affected by democratization. Indeed, whether in times of full-fledged military dictatorship or in times of electoral democracy, routine service-oriented, law-enforcement type of policing remains relatively constant. This chapter argues that post-1970s democratization in Thailand had minimal effects on the entrenched practices of authoritarian policing. Democratization did not put an end to these practices but instead correlated with their legalization through the enactment of a set of empowering legislations. This empirical finding invites reconsideration of the hypothesis of a covariation of regime type and policing practices.

This chapter discusses Ernst Fränkel’s analysis of Nazi Germany as a dual state that combined remnants of legal governance with a practice of permanent dictatorship. It is argued that Fränkel’s dual state thesis sheds a critical light on recent appropriations of the notion of material constitution. This claim is developed by way of an analysis and defence of Fränkel’s critique of Carl Schmitt’s concrete order thought.