While it looks to be that the situation in Bangkok has remained relatively calm under martial law, there's still an uncertain future as to how a new constitution and new government will be established to replace Mr Thaksin's cabinet.

According to historical events, this is the 20th coup in Thailand since it undertook democracy in 1932.

Prime Time Morning spoke to Dr Bruce Lockhart from the Department of History at the National University of Singapore for his insight.

According to Dr Lockhart, this coup is different from the others in Thailand’s history in that it seems to have been driven more by internal political issues than by the overall law and order situation.

The coup has disrupted the political process that looked like it was very much on track, making it very problematic according to Dr Lockhart.

A question that begs questioning, why now? While no one can be sure, Dr Lockhart said that the one thing that was certain was that General Sonthi would not have mounted the coup unless he knew he had support in the right places.

Dr Lockhart also suspects that the Thai elite would probably feel conflicted given that while they support the military coup, they are also the ones most supportive of democracy.