Download or read book Thailand s Political Peasants written by Andrew Walker and published by University of Wisconsin Pres. This book was released on 2012-08-06 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a populist movement elected Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister of Thailand in 2001, many of the country’s urban elite dismissed the outcome as just another symptom of rural corruption, a traditional patronage system dominated by local strongmen pressuring their neighbors through political bullying and vote-buying. In Thailand’s Political Peasants, however, Andrew Walker argues that the emergence of an entirely new socioeconomic dynamic has dramatically changed the relations of Thai peasants with the state, making them a political force to be reckoned with. Whereas their ancestors focused on subsistence, this generation of middle-income peasants seeks productive relationships with sources of state power, produces cash crops, and derives additional income through non-agricultural work. In the increasingly decentralized, disaggregated country, rural villagers and farmers have themselves become entrepreneurs and agents of the state at the local level, while the state has changed from an extractor of taxes to a supplier of subsidies and a patron of development projects. Thailand’s Political Peasants provides an original, provocative analysis that encourages an ethnographic rethinking of rural politics in rapidly developing countries. Drawing on six years of fieldwork in Ban Tiam, a rural village in northern Thailand, Walker shows how analyses of peasant politics that focus primarily on rebellion, resistance, and evasion are becoming less useful for understanding emergent forms of political society.
Download or read book Money and Power in Provincial Thailand written by Ruth McVey and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most studies of Southeast Asian economic change focus on the phenomenal growth experienced by a few large cities, such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. Big business has been viewed as the economic engine fueling the region's growth and prosperity. Studies of the rural areas have concerned themselves with the social and environmental impact of metropolitan growth--villages emptied by migration to the big cities, cultures crushed by tourist development, and agribusiness and lush landscapes destroyed by the devastation of natural resources. The literature reveals that few analysts have examined the middle distance between metropolis and countryside. The contributors to this book have addressed the issue by concentrating on the intermediate level of economic, political, and social life--the world of Thailand's provincial cities and market towns. In the past decade the rise of frequently violent competition for business and political leadership in the Thai provinces, and the growing importance of provincial support for national powerholders, has drawn attention to the way in which these town and village centers are being transformed by capitalist development. This volume brings together some of the research inspired by this, drawing on a variety of disciplinary approaches, national backgrounds, and sites of study. Contributors: Daniel Arghiros, Chris Baker, Sombat Chantornvong, Kevin Hewison, Jim LoGerfo, Ruth McVey, Michael J. Montesano, James Ockey, Pasuk Phongpaichit, Maniemai Thongyou, Yoko Ueda.
Download or read book Thailand History Politics and the Rule of Law written by James Wise and published by Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introductory book on Thai politics and the rule of law explains why chronically unstable Thailand struggles to mediate and adjudicate its political disputes. It focuses on the continuities between the pre-1932 and post-1932 periods. Since the shift to constitutional monarchy in 1932, the power of the monarch and military has endured, the legislature, electorate and, until recently, judiciary have been comparatively powerless, and constitutions and laws have been comparatively unimportant. Historical continuities are also evident in the persistence of hierarchical thinking and ethno-nationalism, both of which have inhibited open debates about governance. And the rule of law does not always apply, owing to different principles underlying western and traditional Siamese law and the emergence of a distinctively Thai legal culture and consciousness. Thailand’s governance was re-cast ambitiously in the 1890s, 1932 and 1997. Since 1997, governing Thailand and developing Thailand’s economy have become harder. So political disputes have become more acute and the absence of a national consensus on dispute settlement mechanisms more obvious. Until governance is again re-cast, Thailand’s political instability and cycle of coups will continue.
Download or read book Making Democracy written by James Ockey and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2004-08-31 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy in Thailand is the result of a complex interplay of traditional and foreign attitudes. Although democratic institutions have been imported, participation in politics is deeply rooted in Thai village society. A contrasting strand of authoritarianism is present not only in the traditional culture of the royal court but also in the centralized bureaucracies and powerful armed services borrowed from the West. Both attitudes have helped to shape Thai democracy's specific character. This topical volume explores the importance of culture and the roles played by leadership, class, and gender in the making of Thai democracy. James Ockey describes changing patterns of leadership at all levels of society, from the cabinet to the urban middle class to the countryside, and suggests that such changes are appropriate to democratic government--despite the continuing manipulation of authoritarian patterns. He examines the institutions of democratic government, especially the political parties that link voters to the parliament. Political factions and the provincial notables that lead them are given careful attention. The failure to fully integrate the lower classes into the democratic system, Ockey argues, has been the underlying cause of many of the flaws of Thai democracy. Female political leadership, another imported notion, is better represented in urban rather than rural areas. Yet gender relations in villages were more equitable than at court, Ockey suggests, and these attitudes have persisted to this day. Successful women politicians from a variety of backgrounds have begun to overcome stereotypes associated with female leadership although barriers remain. With its wide-ranging analysis of Thai politics over the last three decades, Making Democracy is an important resource for both students and specialists.
Download or read book The Thaksinization of Thailand written by Duncan McCargo and published by NIAS Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major reform package was enacted in Thailand in 1997, coinciding with the promulgation of a new constitution. However, the country's financial problems helped create the conditions for the emergence of the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai, or TRT) Party under the leadership of Thaksin Shinawatra, a wealthy telecommunications magnate. Since winning a landslide election victory in 2001, Prime Minister Thaksin has exercised an extraordinary degree of personal dominance over the Thai political scene. This book examines the emergence of the TRT; Thaksin's background; his business activities, relationship with the military, use of rhetoric, and wider political economy networks; and the future of Thai politics.
Download or read book Thaksin written by Pasuk Phongpaichit and published by NIAS Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thaksin Shinawatra has often been compared to Italy's Silvio Berlusconi. Both are fabulously wealthy media magnates who have entered politics. And both have a possessive passion for football. Berlusconi owns Forza Milan and, as many fans note with mixed feelings, Thaksin recently attempted to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Liverpool FC. But there is more to him than football. He became Thailand's prime minister in early 2001 after a landslide election victory in which he promised to 'think new, act new' to transform the country's economy and politics. Since then, Thaksin has been highly popular but also highly controversial. Two long-standing observers have described him as 'the best prime minister Thailand has ever had' and 'another grubby businessman'. This is the first serious study of Thaksin in English. It examines where he comes from and what he is trying to do. The authors, an economics professor and independent author, have written several other books on economics, politics and current affairs in Thailand.
Download or read book Thailand Economy and Politics written by Pasuk Phongpaichit and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last few years, Thailand has emerged as one of the world's most dynamic economies. Yet Thailand is still little known and sparsely written about. This book is the first full-length overview of Thailand's economy and politics. It is based on a wide range of sources in both Thai and English. Its focus is on the second half of the twentieth century, set in a deeper historical context of Siam in the Bangkok era. It plots the transition from rice economy to emerging industrial power, and from absolutist monarchy to one of Asia's most open and lively democracies. The book will be useful for students, interesting for the general reader, and challenging for specialists.
Download or read book Fighting for Virtue written by Duncan McCargo and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighting for Virtue investigates how Thailand's judges were tasked by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) in 2006 with helping to solve the country's intractable political problems—and what happened next. Across the last decade of Rama IX's rule, Duncan McCargo examines the world of Thai judges: how they were recruited, trained, and promoted, and how they were socialized into a conservative world view that emphasized the proximity between the judiciary and the monarchy. McCargo delves into three pivotal freedom of expression cases that illuminate Thai legal and cultural understandings of sedition and treason, before examining the ways in which accusations of disloyalty made against controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra came to occupy a central place in the political life of a deeply polarized nation. The author navigates the highly contentious role of the Constitutional Court as a key player in overseeing and regulating Thailand's political order before concluding with reflections on the significance of the Bhumibol era of "judicialization" in Thailand. In the end, posits McCargo, under a new king, who appears far less reluctant to assert his own power and authority, the Thai courts may now assume somewhat less significance as a tool of the monarchical network.
Download or read book Making Democracy written by James Ockey and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2004-08-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy in Thailand is the result of a complex interplay of traditional and foreign attitudes. Although democratic institutions have been imported, participation in politics is deeply rooted in Thai village society. A contrasting strand of authoritarianism is present not only in the traditional culture of the royal court but also in the centralized bureaucracies and powerful armed services borrowed from the West. Both attitudes have helped to shape Thai democracy's specific character. This topical volume explores the importance of culture and the roles played by leadership, class, and gender in the making of Thai democracy. James Ockey describes changing patterns of leadership at all levels of society, from the cabinet to the urban middle class to the countryside, and suggests that such changes are appropriate to democratic government--despite the continuing manipulation of authoritarian patterns. He examines the institutions of democratic government, especially the political parties that link voters to the parliament. Political factions and the provincial notables that lead them are given careful attention. The failure to fully integrate the lower classes into the democratic system, Ockey argues, has been the underlying cause of many of the flaws of Thai democracy. Female political leadership, another imported notion, is better represented in urban rather than rural areas. Yet gender relations in villages were more equitable than at court, Ockey suggests, and these attitudes have persisted to this day. Successful women politicians from a variety of backgrounds have begun to overcome stereotypes associated with female leadership although barriers remain. With its wide-ranging analysis of Thai politics over the last three decades, Making Democracy is an important resource for both students and specialists.
Download or read book Political Change in Thailand written by Kevin Hewison and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation IPolitical Change in Thailand provides an assessment of approaches to studying Thai politics, the various forces reshaping the forms of political activity and their roles in the fluid contemporary political environment. It provides a survey of the more enduring and powerful institutions such as the military, bureacracy and religion, and includes an assessment of the important but seldom scrutinized monarchy and its role in democratization. This title available in eBook format. Click here for more information. Visit our eBookstore at: www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.
Download or read book Emerging States at Crossroads written by Keiichi Tsunekawa and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license. This volume analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confront today. Notwithstanding the growing importance of the ‘emerging states’ in global affairs and governance, many problems requiring immediate solutions have emerged at home largely as a consequence of the rapid economic development and associated sociopolitical changes. The middle-income trap is a major economic challenge faced by emerging states. This volume regards interest coordination for technological upgrading as crucial to avoid the trap and examines how various emerging states are grappling with this challenge by fostering public-private cooperation, voluntary associations of market players, and/or social networks. Social disparity is another serious problem. It is deeply rooted in history in the emerging states such as South Africa and many Latin American countries. However, income distribution is recently deteriorating even in East Asia that was once praised for its high economic growth with equity. Increasing pressure for political opening is another challenge for emerging states. This volume argues that the economic, social, and political problems are interwoven in the sense that the emerging states need to build political consensus in order to tackle the economic and social difficulties. Democratic institutions have not always been successful in this respect.
Download or read book Political Conflict in Thailand written by David Morell and published by Cambridge, Mass. : Oelgeschlager, Gunn & Hain. This book was released on 1981 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Kings Country and Constitutions written by Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a detailed analysis of Thailand's political development since 1932, when Thailand became a constitutional monarchy, until the present. It examines the large number of different versions of the constitution which Thailand has had since 1932, and explains why the constitution has been subject to such frequent change, and why there have been so many outbursts of violent, political unrest. It explores the role of the military, and, most importantly, discusses the role of the monarchy, which, as the author shows, has been crucial in holding Thailand together through the various changes of regime. The author brings to light original and largely unseen documents from the Public Records Office and US National Archives, as well as drawing upon her extensive knowledge of politics in Thailand.
Download or read book Women and Politics in Thailand written by Kazuki Iwanaga and published by NIAS Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume, including contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field, addresses the challenges, obstacles and opportunities for increased women's political representation in Thailand. Will Thai politics be different with an increase in the number of women politicians? What are the possibilities for Thai women to take proactive initiatives that aim to transform Thai politics into being more gender aware and equal? In seeking to address these and related issues, the analysis brings together a complex interplay of factors, such as traditional Thai views of gender and politics; the national and local political context of the new Thai constitution of 1997; and recent experiences of selected women politicians in the legislative and executive branches of Thai government.
Download or read book Political Change in Thailand written by Kevin Hewison and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an assessment of approaches to studying Thai politics, the various forces reshaping the forms of political activity and their roles in the fluid contemporary political environment. This volume will be of particular interest to those who require an understanding of the complex and rapidly changing political realities of contemporary Thailand. Political Change in Thailand will be of particular interest to those who require an understanding of the complex and rapidly changing political realities of contemporary Thailand.
Download or read book Government and Politics of Thailand written by and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1987 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These essays--written by five leading social scientists who were active participants in Thailand's recent political events--examine the causes of the political disparity between Thailand's success at remaining an independent nation and its failure to achieve national prosperity and security. Covering the major aspects of Thai political life, this anthology is an indispensable reference tool.
Download or read book Public Opinion and Political Power in Thailand written by Robert B. Albritton and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
