Supinya Klangnarong: Some Introductory Remarks. (On the occasion of the screening of a documentary on her at the Kyoto University Center, Bangkok., Thailand, June 16, 2008) (original) (raw)
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In 1997, the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) successfully organised a 99-day protest, which was widely hailed as ‘a historical moment’ for people's politics in Thailand. However, following the creation of the first Thai Rak Thai government in 2001, the AOP's political role has gradually declined. This thesis aims to investigate the factors behind the AOP's decline between 2001 and 2010. It argues that, because of inherent internal weaknesses and the recent political changes, the development of AOP in the 2000s has increasingly been influenced, if not determined, by external factors. First, the thesis re-examines the movement's internal elements in a more critical view, which evidently contrasts with early writings on the AOP. It argues that some of the AOP's key features, such as its loose structure, are partially to blame for the movement's decline. NGO activists’ roles in the movement are also critically reassessed. More importantly, the thesis also systematical...
In the present political crisis in Thailand, it is shocking that most Thai NGOs have disgraced themselves by siding with the Yellow Shirt elites or remaining silent in the face of the general attack on democracy. It is shocking because NGO activists started out by being on the side of the poor and the oppressed in society. To explain this situation, we must go beyond a simple explanation that relies on personal failings of individuals or suggestions that NGOs have ‘underlying bad intentions’, or that they are ‘agents of imperialism’.
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NGOs and Civil Society in Thailand critically examines the relationships of civil society to non-governmental organisations in Thailand, and examines the 'NGOisation' of civil society, how NGOs are funded and governed, and in what way the NGOs have been shaped to work with the funder. NGOisation is a phenomenon by which the funded organisations are impelled to transform to suit their funder as reliable partners. Focusing on Thailand, an Asian country where NGOs have been heavily relying on the public sector for funding, the book analyses the relations between NGOs and their significant funder, Thailand Health Promotion Foundation (THPF), one of the biggest and most influential players in the NGO sector. As the NGO-funded organisations are impelled to transform and adapt to become more professionalised, institutionalised, bureaucratised, and depoliticised to suit their funder as reliable partners, their characteristics and relations with the state are complex and interactive. Engaging with key stakeholders in the field of NGO and public governance in Thailand, the book demonstrates how THPF changed the NGO landscape, integrating them and innovatively coordinating non-state initiatives into public governance system. A novel contribution to the study of NGOs and the state, the book also addresses NGO transformation, politics, and governance. It will be of interest to academics working on Asian politics, civil society, public policy, and public management.
Social movements and political opposition in contemporary Thailand
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There is an underlying optimism in much of the literature that considers the emergence of social movements as being associated with deepening processes of democratization. The expansion of civil society is seen to expand political space. This paper takes a critical lens to this perspective, using recent political events in Thailand as a case study of the political strategies and alliances of social movements. We examine the debates that saw many social movements and their leaderships initially support elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai Party only to see this support drain away as these same movements called on their followers to bring down the government. More importantly, we examine how these movements came to ally with conservative forces associated with the palace and military. Based on the Thai case study, we suggest that these seemingly unlikely outcomes result from the very nature of social movements. Leadership by middle-class activists, the need for alliances, the development of networks, and a focus on single issues and identities leads social movements to make substantial political compromises. The consequences can be negative for democratic development.