Social Capital and Corruption: Vote Buying and the Politics of Reform in Thailand

Abstract

I offer a critical view of the social capital thesis, which frequently argues that more is better (and less is worse), by examining the ethics of social capital, using Pierre Bourdieu's understanding of networks as defined by their limits. I argue that social capital only assumes conceptual coherence when distinguished from its complementary opposite. I illustrate these theoretical points with a discussion of political reform in Thailand and the 2001 general election. The election exemplifies the benefits of the circulation of social capital: voter turnout and party membership were up, and civil society was active. Yet democratic achievements in Thailand were intimately tied to political corruption. In Thailand, democracy and vote buying are intimately related as examples of the productive dynamic of social capital and corruption; the civil and the uncivil often produce each other. This essay thus expands social capital theory's focus on the relations of people by examining the relationality of concepts. One has to examine the quality of social capital and the ethics of each network's inside/outside distinction. Thus rather than being a political solution, social capital is a theoretical problem, warranting further comparative research that examines how civil social capital interacts with the uncivil social capital of corruption, ethnocentrism, and sectarianism.William A. Callahan is a professor of international politics at the University of Manchester, England. He worked in Thailand for five years as a journalist and a lecturer at Rangsit University (Bangkok). His most recent book is Contingent States: Greater China and Transnational Relations. For sharing information and commenting on this essay, the author thanks Gothom Arya, Michael Kelly Connors, Kevin Hewison, Laddawan Tantiwittayaphitak, Naruemon Thabchumpon, Duncan McCargo, Sukanya Bumroongsook, Sumalee Bumroongsook, Somchai Phatharathananunth, Frederic Schaffer, Teera Vorrakitpokatorn, Thavesilp Subwattana, Viengrat Netipho, and Stephen E. Welch. Special thanks to Jennifer L. Hochschild, the Perspectives reviewers, Frederic Schaffer, and Andreas Schedler for encouraging me to think about corruption and social capital in a new way.

When Private Capital Becomes a Security Asset: Challenging Conventional Government/Business Interaction

“…However, we cannot deny that the role of 'guanxi' [4,29,32,34,35] in the relationship between Taiwanese businesses and local government is still significant. As most Taiwanese businesses observe, the official seminar is simply a channel through which they can become familiar with local government.…”

Gender, Informal Institutions and Political Recruitment

“…Direct vote buying is one important and recurring detail in this larger pattern. In order to administer vote buying, in particular, the large networks are essential (Arghiros 2000, Callahan 2005, Callahan and McCargo 1996, Nelson 2005. Linked to this, general corruption levels also seem to have been consistent and rather high in Thailand in the past years.…”

“…Considering that the details of the exchange consist of sensitive information, clientelist networks are built on high levels of in-group trust, and recruitment is decided on hierarchically and is by invitation only. It is imperative that people in the same clique or electoral network can trust each other, especially considering that activities are often sensitive and secretive and sometimes outright illegal -such as the distribution of vote-buying money (Callahan 2005). In addition, women often do not fit the construction of what a local politician is supposed to be like.…”

Global Economic Changes and the Commodification of Human Capital: Implications of Filipino Nurse Migration

“…5 This has led to a relaxation of Canada's migration laws. 6 Saudi Arabia does not issue immigrant visas to migrating nurses, except when the nurses are married to their nationals. Many contract workers whose contracts were processed in the Philippines as 'professional nurses' are also working as nurses abroad.…”

“…Before moving to the case of Filipino nurse migration, however, the following section considers the works of contemporary scholars that include Lucian Pye, William Case, William Callahan [6] and Amartya Sen. It surveys the implications of social capital for economic development.…”