Research from various countries demonstrates that trust builds social cohesion and confl icts may be solved as a result. Many alternatives for reconciliation in various countries have been studied and introduced to Th ailand. However, the implementation of a reconciliation policy in Th ailand seems to be impossible without having the atmosphere of peace building and specifi cally, trust building. Th is study aims to measure trust and discuss factors that may be problematic for establishing social cohesion, explaining why the process of reconciliation cannot be successful without trust building. Th e data from the Social Quality survey conducted by King Prajadhipok's Institute in late 2009 was used. Th is study fi nds that Th ai society is still fragile because of the decreasing trust among people as well as confi dence in various institutions, particularly political institutions.
This article examines three approaches to the study of nations, nationalism, and ethnic identity: primordialism, instrumentalism, and constructivism. The discussion relies primarily on qualitative methods consisting of documentary and explanatory research to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. More importantly, an attempt is made to understand Thai nationalism and ethnic identity. Applying each theoretical framework to explain the Thai nation, nationalism, and ethnic identity, this article finds that each approach has both pros and cons. This article thus proposes the mechanism of the political entrepreneur to discuss how Thai political leaders define and utilize Thai (or 'Thai-ness') as well as Thai nationalism.
This article investigates the interactions of socioeconomic characteristics and electoral outcomes at the constituency level to demonstrate the change in the Thai party system since 2001. Probing the effects of the agricultural population and income inequality on electoral outcomes in the proportional representation (PR) tier, this article finds that the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) and the Democrat Party (DP) attracted voters with opposite social standings. While voters residing in the provinces with substantial agrarian populations tended to vote more for the TRT than the DP, constituencies with highly unequal income distribution were more likely to be DP supporters. The findings provide evidence against alternative explanations, including regionalism and support for a charismatic leader, for the TRT’s consecutive victories. Due to the convergence between social divisions and party support, the Thai party system has become stable and strong enough to resist short-term interventions, implying that the future electoral outcomes will likely be similar.
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