<Political Networks in Asia>Contending Political Networks: A Study of the "Yellow Shirts" and "Red Shirts" in Thailand's Politics

This essay investigates two bitter antagonists in the turbulent politics of contemporary Thailand: the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), with its members labeled the "Yellow Shirts, " and the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or the "Red Shirts." Each of the two foes, typically regarded only as a social movement, actually has a vast network connecting supporters from many quarters. The Yellow Shirt network is associated with the monarchy, military, judiciary, and bureaucracy. The Red Shirt network, organizationally manifest in a series of electorally triumphant parties, is linked to exiled ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his "proxies, " and groups and individuals who opposed the military coup that ousted Thaksin in 2006. The significance of the two antagonistic networks can be gauged from their different influences on democratic processes over several years. Using concepts of political networks to examine the PAD and UDD within the socio-political context in which they arose, the essay focuses on several aspects of the networks: their political conception and perspectives, their organizational structures (for decision making and networking), and the strategies and activities of their members. The essay critically analyzes key and affiliated characters within the PAD and UDD, as well as the functional mechanisms of the networks, in order to evaluate the positions of the two networks in contemporary Thai politics

Grassroot NGOs and Political Reform in Thailand: Democracy behind Civil Society

This article argues that behind the concept of civil society is a real opportunity for populist forces to drive democracy forward. In Thailand, the participatory role of non-governmental organisations, particularly at grassroots level, is very important. By advocating people's participation and empowerment, grassroots NGOs may be in a position to expand notions of democracy, from mere parliamentarism to genuine participatory democracy. In the Thai case, however, success will depend upon whether the grassroots non-governmental organisations (GNGOs) are able to establish a linkage between 'elite-urban' and 'rural-popular' elements in Thai civil society. The key question is whether these organisations are able to democratise Thai civil society and create an enhanced form of participatory democracy

Diglossia and identity in Northeast Thailand: Linguistic, social, and political hierarchy

The paper explores diglossic relations between Central Thai and phasa isan, a variety officially known as a dialect of Thai, but linguistically close to Lao. Phasa isan is spoken by almost one-third of Thailand's population but its speakers in the Northeast are often stigmatized as uneducated and backward. We conducted field research mainly among university students in Ubon Ratchathani, a northeastern border province, by drawing upon data from survey questionnaires, reflective essays, interviews, and field observations. The findings suggest a transitional diglossic relationship in which Central Thai is the High and phasa isan the Low variety. These relationships are discussed in terms of nationalism, social hierarchy, and language maintenance and shift

Contesting democracy : Thailand's Forum of the Poor

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Wreck/Conciliation? The Politics of Truth Commissions in Thailand

More than ninety people died in political violence linked to the March–May 2010 “redshirt” protests in Bangkok. The work of the government-appointed Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) illustrates the potential shortcomings of seeing quasi-judicial commissions as a catch-all solution for societies struggling to deal with the truth about their recent pasts. The 2012 TRCT report was widely criticized for blaming too much of the violence on the actions of rogue elements of the demonstrators and failing to focus tightly on the obvious legal transgressions of the security forces. By failing strongly to criticize the role of the military in most of the fatal shootings, the TRCT arguably helped pave the way for the 2014 coup. Truth commissions that are unable to produce convincing explanations of the facts they examine may actually prove counterproductive. Following Quinn and Wilson, we argue in this article that weak truth commissions are prone to politicization and are likely to produce disappointing outcomes, which may even be counterproductive

Urbanized villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests: Not just poor farmers?

This article argues that a more nuanced understanding is needed of the social composition of the redshirt protests in Bangkok from March-May 2010. Based on extensive interviews and survey research, the paper argues that many redshirts were "urbanized villagers" with lower middle class income levels and aspirations

The Mekong region = 湄公河區域

Moderator : Carl MIDDLETON (Chulalongkorn University. Thailand) Speakers : Walden BELLO (Focus on the Global South, Thailand) Naruemon THABCHUMPON (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand) Kanokwan MANOROM (Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand) Nwet Kay Khine (Paung Ku, Myanmar) Supawadee PETRAT (Thai Volunteer Service Foundation, Thailand) Discussant : Pianporn DEETES (International Rivers, Thailand