Democracy In Thailand Research Articles

Political Polarization in Thailand: Urban vs. Rural Dynamics

This study aims to achieve two research objectives: (1) to examine the disparities in democratic attitudes and political participation between urban and rural areas in Thailand, and (2) to formulate policy recommendations aimed at mitigating political polarization between urban and rural areas in the country. It utilized a survey methodology, drawing data from the 7th World Values Survey, with a representative sample of Thai citizens from both urban and rural regions. The study analyzed four independent variables—place of residence, gender, socioeconomic status, and education level—alongside two categories of dependent variables, namely democratic attitudes and political participation. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS, encompassing a range of descriptive statistics as well as hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses. The findings indicate that rural residents in Thailand tend to exhibit stronger democratic values than their urban counterparts. However, they also display lower levels of political participation. To enhance democracy in Thailand, it is imperative to create an environment conducive to political engagement, particularly in rural communities that often feel marginalized and resentful due to policies that appear to favor urban elites. Addressing this divide is crucial for the stability and development of Thailand’s democratic system.

When Coups Occur: Erosion of Democracy in Thailand and Myanmar.

It is generally accepted that attempts at coup d'état have decreased since the end of the Cold War. But this does not mean that coup attempts will not occur in the future. With the recent two military coups in Thailand and Myanmar, all the continental states in Southeast Asia have entered authoritarian rules. This article explores when coups possibly occurred in the cases of Thailand in 2014 and Myanmar in 2021 that experienced overthrowing the civilian governments and the rise of the military in power. The Early Warning Signals (EWS) recently endorsed to investigation of the likelihood of military coups and qualitative analysis of collected data on factors affecting such incidents were combined to better explain the situations. From this approach, this article found that Group Grievance and Security Apparatus indicators in the Fragile States Index are important factors leading to the occurrence of military coups in the two countries. Also, from the qualitative analysis, a political culture relying on on iconic political leaders in the two countries has been a negative influence that deludes democratization and challenges civilian rule.

Twitter and the protest movement in Thailand: A thematic analysis of highly retweeted tweets during the pro-democracy protests

In 2021, there were over 1,516 street protests across Thailand, with government forces deployed to disperse protests over 60 times nationwide. Twitter, like the physical protest sites, became an extremely active platform. This paper aims to understand key content with the highest number of retweets during the call for democracy in Thailand in 2021, specifically under the hashtags #28FebMob, #18JulMob, and #7AugMob, through thematic analysis. The findings indicate five key themes conveyed through tweets, namely information dissemination, grievance expression, moral support, mobilization, and calls for action. The study also shows that most of the content conveyed frustration against state power and was highly subjective rather than stating protest objectives or calling for more forces. The characteristics of the tweets were also related to ongoing circumstances of the actual protests at the time, which differed widely depending on the specific event.

Democracy in Thailand

Summary: Democracy is an alien concept to Thailand. This study analyzes the possibilities for democratic action in the kingdom using a 7-question framework for analysis. The study concludes with the prospects for democracy in the kingdom. Summary of method: The framework for analyzing democracy in Southeast Asia has seven questions as follows: (1) Are there regularly held elections that are free and fair in the country? (2) Are there external or foreign observers of the elections? (3) Are the ballot boxes stuffed openly or secretly? (4) Are the voters bribed in any way before or during the elections? (5) Is the vote secret? (6) Are there secret police operating beyond the law? (7) Are there Opposition parties that can freely take part in elections with low barriers to entry? The study uses two main original tables to record the history of grassroots activism and General Elections since 1969 and supplement the framework.

Research on the Role of New Media in Thailand's Democratic Politics

With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as the Internet, new media in Thailand have started to develop fast. In terms of freedom of opinion, new media have a higher degree of freedom compared to traditional media. In Thai democracy, the new media is a "double-edged sword" with both positive and negative effects. It is a booster for political parties' election campaigns, a medium for Thai people to express their political views and communicate with the government, an important propaganda and mobilization platform for political campaigns, and a tool for foreign forces to interfere in Thailand's internal affairs. The duality of new media brings new opportunities and great challenges to Thai democracy. In the future, new media can both increase people's motivation to participate in politics and achieve two-way interaction between the government and the people. However, some of Thailand's new media have deviated from the track of democratic political development and have become political weapons for political parties to fight with each other. Some of the new media will also be influenced by Western forces and Western ideology, making Thailand's democracy appear alienated.

Fear of Democracy in Thailand: Who is Afraid of Whom?

Fear of Democracy in Thailand: Who is Afraid of Whom?

태국의 민주주의 실험: 성공과 좌절

태국의 민주주의 실험: 성공과 좌절

PERAN ” EKA LAK THAI” DALAM DEMOKASI DI THAILAND

Abstract
 This article describes the Role of "Eka Lak Thai" in the development of democracy in Thailand. The author uses qualitative research methods, where the author makes a description, description or painting systematically, factually, accurately about the facts, the properties and relationships between phenomena that are investigated through literature. Thais, Buddhists and Kings are an inseparable part of Thai society which is dictated in the constitution. This has caused democracy in Thailand to be carried out autonomously not absolutely because there is no separation between religion and state, making it difficult for the implementation of democracy. Thai democracy is only ceremonial because it does not open space for freedom of opinion, because the existing tradition is not just a social attribute that can be easily accepted, but the existence of state convictions in Thailand has hardened and become a political identity that fills all space, both political space and social space society.
 
 Keywords: Thai Democracy, Eka Lak Thai, Political Identity

National Assembly: An Empty Promise to Democracy

Throughout history, architecture and urban design have been manipulated to serve politics. Capitals and capitols have become grand symbolic tools for the state, which should be understood in terms of their political and cultural contexts that helped bring them into being.
 Accordingly, by presenting a multi-dimension critical inquiry of the National Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand, this paper argues via semiology, or a study of signs that the design of the Assembly fails to signify its original purpose: democratic ideology and practice. Ironically, however, such symbolic deficiency precisely captures the reality of democracy in Thailand. Here, democracy does not function merely as an ideology, but as a political discourse full of incongruity, paradox, manipulation, and deception.
 In addition, through a critical urban study, this article reveals that the obscurity of the Assembly both in Thai architectural literature and in the urban fabric of Bangkok exemplifies the true state of the legislative branch of the government. A lack of integration between the Assembly and the physical condition of Bangkok notably the Rajadamnoen Avenue, ‘ the corridor of power,’ further demonstrates that the parliament is a rather weak and neglected institution. Significant political policies and decisions are formed and madeelsewhere. The parliamentary system acts merely as a tool for self-legitimization and authority-preservation in a game of power politics in Thailand.

THE DEMAND OF DEMOCRATIC LEADER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: A CASE OF THAI SOCIETY

Thailand is located in Southeast Asia. Thailand's democracy was still struggling that is a military coup by the loop 13 times. Every time a constitution to allow more democratic, the last time was on May 22, 2014. But many Thai people have come to congratulate and welcome to leader from powerful military. The research objectives are to analysis the leader types that Thai society wants and the factors that influence the demand. Then create a mathematical equation. To predict which type of leader depends on what factor. This methodology has been sampled from the voters, total 400 samples to analysis with “stepwise multiple regression analysis”. The finding showed demand of Thai society that the democratic leader with an average of 71.45out of 100 points. Factors that affect democratic leader needs caused by 4 factors that are the policy of the political party, that are the favorite of most people.Secondly, to promote the industrial development to make people earn and have work. Next is ability to organize society And the last are the right and the freedom to express in political, right to elect the leader. The equation can be: Want Democratic Leader = 45.76 +.28 policy of govt.party +.26 industrial.estate. -.24 social.order.ability + .07 Right.freedom. The research outcome can suggest : Should invent the new policies should be “be to one’s taste” of people, should be on promoting industrial development, should promote freedom of opportunity and should increase the ability to organize social order. Research methods should be expanded to bring that research into a political theory in the future. Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2017.33.911936 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

On the Path to Democracy in Thailand: Military Reform is the First Step

On the Path to Democracy in Thailand: Military Reform is the First Step

Mass Media and Ideology Dissemination against Democracy in Thailand

The study on “Mass Media and Ideology Dissemination against Democracy in Thailand” is qualitative study with the method of documentary research from text books, books, newspapers and online newspapers to find the definition of democracy which was the system of forming the elected government with the principle of sovereignty, majority, equality, freedom and laws. However, some mass media had false consciousness of democracy which included: election brought bad quality politicians; recruitment of persons to form the government was better than election; promotion of superstition; one man one vote was not for Thai society; capitalism deteriorated the nation; The Armed Forces worked for the people. Another concept was the idea that believed Thai society was praising the elite groups. The ideology said the society should obey the senior citizen who had morals, and the Armed Forces forced people to obey.

A Study on Democracy in Thailand: Analysis of Popular Support for Democracy in Thaksin Government(2001-2006)

A Study on Democracy in Thailand: Analysis of Popular Support for Democracy in Thaksin Government(2001-2006)

Civic/citizenship learning and the challenges for democracy in Thailand

After nearly a decade of political polarization and deepening conflicts, Thailand is embarking on yet another cycle of reform and democratization project. While one of the proposed reform and democratizing strategies is to strengthen civic education curriculum and value inculcation, there has been a limited critical understanding on how schools—as important sites for political and cultural socialization—play a role in contributing toward or hindering the construction of citizens for a democracy. This qualitative study examines citizenship learning that takes place through school routines, system, and structure in a ‘democratic’ and an alternative Thai school and the implications for the development of democratic citizens. Findings suggest that civic/citizenship education embedded in everyday’s school practices follows a traditional conception of good citizen and thus provides limited condition for participatory and thoughtful citizenship.

Buddhism, Democracy and Power in the 1932 Thai Revolution

The People’s Party toppled the Siamese absolute monarchy and introduced constitutional democracy in Thailand in June 1932. Scholars have generally denied that the revolution had any popular resonance, but this article shows that in Buddhism, the country’s premier cultural form, democratic rhetoric in the 1930s resonated among young monks marginalised by the ecclesiastical hierarchy. A group of young monks within the Mahanikai, or Great Order, rebelled against the palace-established Thammayut order that exercised the most power in institutional Buddhism. A “thin” or formal democracy established in 1932 – one displaying the main trappings of a regime of popular sovereignty but purposefully limited in scope by the People’s Party – thus inspired an assertion of a “thick” democracy, or democracy as a much older social value that governed both the Sangha internally and its relations with local communities, which the Mahanikai activists claimed was the core of original Buddhism.

The Thai Lao question: the reappearance of Thailand’s ethnic Lao community and related policy questions

This article presents an anatomy of the 2011 Thailand Country Report to the Committee responsible for the UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in which Thailand recognized its largest ethnic minority community, the Thai Lao, to the international community. The article analyses the Country Report as well as the deliberations of the Committee in dialogue with the Thailand Country Delegation. It provides a policy context for the Country Report, including Thailand’s classification of ethnic communities. The article argues the need to minimize racialized discrimination as regards the Thai Lao. Five policy issues, framed in the context of inclusion and which arise from the recognition of the Thai Lao by the Country Report, are considered. The article concludes by discussing how the Thai Lao may be better included in Thailand via political developments towards a social democracy in Thailand, for social democracy can recognize sociocultural rights.

Routledge handbook of Southeast Asian democratization

Part 1: Stunted Trajectories and Unhelpful Milieus 1. Democracy's Mixed Fortunes in Southeast Asia: Torpor, Change, and Tradeoffs William Case 2. Dead idea (still) walking: the legacy of the democracy and values debate Mark R Thompson 3. Democratization & Human Rights in Southeast Asia Sorpong Peou 4. ASEAN, Regionalism and Democracy Mark Beeson and Kelly Gerard 5. The Global Context of Regime Change Thomas B. Pepinsky Part 2: Wavering Social Forces 6. Demystifying 'People Power': An Elite Interpretation of 'Democratization' in Southeast Asia Yuki Fukuoka 7. The Middle Class and Democracy in Southeast Asia Aim Sinpeng and Aries A. Arugay 8. Conflict, Oppositional Spaces and Political Representation in Southeast Asia Garry Rodan 9. Civil Society and Democratisation in Southeast Asia: What is the Connection? Meredith L. Weiss 10. Ethnicity and Democracy Joel Sawat Selway 11. Islam and Political Democracy Robert W. Hefner 12. Women and democracy in Southeast Asia Susan Blackburn 13. Hype or Hubris? The Political Impact of the Internet and Social Networking in Southeast Asia Jason Abbott Part 3: Uncertain Institutions 14. Electoral Systems in Southeast Asia Benjamin Reilly 15. Rethinking Party System Institutionalization in Southeast Asia and Beyond Allen Hicken and Erik Martinez Kuhonta 16. Democracy, Hybridity, and Accountability in Southeast Asia's Legislatures William Case 17. Courts and Judicialization in Southeast Asia Bjoern Dressel 18. Democracy, the Rule of Law and Governance in Southeast Asia Natasha Hamilton-Hart 19. Money Politics: Patronage and Clientelism in Southeast Asia Edward Aspinall 20. Southeast Asian Militaries in the Age of Democratization - From Ruler to Servant? Aurel Croissant Part 4: Country cases and democratic guises 21. Can the Philippines' Wild Oligarchy Be Tamed? Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 22. Democracy in Thailand: Theory and Practice Federico Ferrara 23. Indonesia: Democratic Consolidation and Stagnation under Yudhoyono, 2004-2014 Marcus Mietzner 24. Singapore: from hegemonic to competitive authoritarianism Stephan Ortmann 25. Malaysia: Pseudo-democracy and the making of a Malay-Islamic State James Chin 26. Myanmar: Transition, Praetorian Politics, and the Prospects for Democratic Change Renaud Egreteau 27. Democracy and Vietnam Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet

Anatomy of Political Atrophy in Thailand

With the take-over of power by the military on May 22, 2014, under General Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, the chief of army, Thailand has gone full circle in coup d’états, from democratic deficit to fractious political struggle between different social groups leading to acute and irreconcilable political instability that gives leverage to the army to finally intervene and seize power by suspending the constitutional processes. Democracy in Thailand is not only a recent phenomenon, but is also periodic and short-lived. It is not democracy and political legitimacy of elected leaders that has held the country together and provided political and economic stability, but deep reverence for the monarchy, fear of the armed forces and the strength of the civil service. Thailand’s political system is in a state of atrophy in the midst of irreconcilable differences between those who want to cling to power through constitutional means, fair or unfair, of elections and populist policies and those who believe that constitutional means have brought about a tyranny of majority and unbridled corruption, which they want to reform through extraordinary measures, including suspension of electoral democracy and an unelected People’s Council. Will the military be able to resolve the political crisis in Thailand, bring stability and usher the country to constitutional democracy with political institutions matching the nation’s economic progress? If the complete failure of the previous coup in 2006 to improve Thailand’s political situation is any indication, there are reasons for concern and scepticism. Moreover, the degree of polarisation and intolerance in society now is more severe than it was eight years ago. To end decades of political instability and immaturity will require fundamental changes in the way Thai society functions and the way its people view their nation’s future.

What Went Wrong with the Thai Democracy?

The coup on 22 May 2014 in Thailand has, for the present, caused a break in the political divide and impasse, a problem that the previous elected government was unable to solve. Many were worried that the deeply entrenched political polarization which had existed for almost a decade would lead to bloodshed if it was allowed to continue. So many questions were asked on what went wrong with the presumed Thai democracy. Why did the coup happen? What would be the future of democracy in Thailand? How can it be consolidated? These questions reflect that Thailand is facing a serious problem of democratic consolidation. Many scholars on democratization agree that the road to a stable democracy is not always smooth. They agree that democratic consolidation in many countries is not an easy task, and Thailand is no exception. Democratic consolidation depends on a variety of factors which vary from one country to another. Nonetheless, one of the major causes for the instability of a democratic regime is related to political legitimacy. Any political regime which does not secure legitimacy will find it hard to survive since its legitimacy depends on its acceptance by its citizens as expressed through major political forces. There is no need at this stage to debate in detail here how to develop and fortify a democratic regime’s legitimacy. However, it is accepted that the essential requirement for strengthening such legitimacy is the regime’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of its people and the implementation of democratic values, practices and procedures.

Local Politics and Democracy in Thailand

Abstract This article aimed to explain the development of the Thai local politics and democracy which originated from the concept of the administration decentralization, and to promote the importance of democracy basic principles learning. In developed countries it is evident that the progress of politics and democracy experienced the processes of tolerance, majority rules and minority rights, conflict solving, negotiation, and benefits assimilation. The early stage of the initiation of the Thai local administration, under the District Administration Act of the year 1994 has also caused the conflicts and violence to life and properties, as well as crimes and corruptions of those involved with local politicians. However, the experience from the past two decades has led to the development of communities and local politicians resulting in the development of public utilities including roads, water supply, water sources, public spaces, public properties, and local economy. The centralized phenomena, including the number of votes in the elections, protests, and silence during the coup d’etat, reflected the failure and weaknesses of the national administration. Thus, the development of local administration can be considered as a good lesson in solving conflicts and violence in the nation's politics.