Chapter 5: Conflict Transformation and Public Opinion in Thailand’s Deep South During the Period from 2015 to 2017

Abstract

This article analyzes and compares four results of public opinion surveys conducted through the coordination of academic institutions in Thailand's Deep South. Based on the concepts of the conflict transformation, the study indicates, in the survey data conducted from 2015 to 2017, that people in the Deep South have had mixed feelings about the ongoing peace talks and the violent situation. The more open form of autonomous governance has been advocated by a sizable number of people, but the spiral of silence dominating the “no comment” groups still makes it problematic to predict the future. More studies need to be done and the article also shows that the survey research, if carried out properly, could reveal the unseen drivers of change in the conflict society.