The role of civil society in peacebuilding in southern Thailand

• Date: 01 November 2016
• Published date: 01 November 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1598

■Academic Paper

The role of civil society in peacebuilding

in southern Thailand

Kayanee Chor Boonpunth

1

*and Mark G. Rolls

2

1

Faculty of Management Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand

2

School of Social Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

The ‘Southern Fire’is an ethno-religious conflict in the southernmost region of Thailand that has claimed thousands of

lives since a violent upsurge in 2004. According to a framework for conflict resolution, the state’s policy alone could

not resolve the conflict as it focused mainly on implementing a ‘peacekeeping’strategy by increasing the number of

security forces. Pursuing a ‘peacemaking’strategy via peace talks by the government did not create any concrete out-

come either. Therefore, to create lasting peace, civil society actors need to be involved in a ‘peacebuilding’strategy in

order to keep the balance of socioeconomic structures. A number of civil society groups have played significant roles

that could reduce the tensions in this region. Based on the in-depth interview data and documentary research, this

article identifies the eight roles of civil society and its potential to grow in the deep south. This article helps to promote

civil society as a tool of a non-violent approach that could help create a sustained peace in these provinces. Copyright

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ethno-religious conflict in the southernmost provinces

of Thailand has a long historical background and com-

plex multiple root causes. Although it does not catch

the world’sattentionasmuchasotherconflict cases

in the same region, daily violent incidents have been

ongoing for more than a decade. Many factors and

variablesinfluence the tension between the conflicting

parties. In the case of southern Thailand, ethnic ten-

sion has been latent in this sensitive area for centuries.

Adam Curle has argued that education and social ac-

tivities were tools that could have helped to prevent

the conflict before it erupted (Lederach, 1997).

Unfortunately, Thai governments ignored the un-

balanced powersituation and kept repeatingnational

policies that emphasised inequality in society. When

injustice and a power imbalance had accumulated

to a certain level, along with some incidents as trig-

gers, violence finally erupted in 2004, and thus, the

conflict was no longer hidden. Awareness of the

conflict became high, and confrontation among

conflicting parties was unavoidable (Sudasna Na

Ayudhaya, 2007).

It is believed that the civil society sector is one of

the key elements for a country’s successful develop-

ment and for finding solutions to any crisis caused

by political, economic and social factors. Therefore,

to handle the southern conflict, the state should also

emphasise civil politics and citizen awareness as

well as strengthen the civil society sector in Thai

communities (Sudasna Na Ayudhaya, 2007). Na-

tionally, Thailand has one of the largest civil society

communities in Southeast Asia. Bangkok is a re-

gional centre for several intergovernmental agencies

like the United Nations and also hosts hundreds of

regional non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In the southern conflict, many civil society actors

play leading roles, and they receive high respect in

the communities. These include religious and ethnic

leaders, notablescholars and renowned NGOfigures.

These actors have a vital role in growing public

awareness and promoting non-violent tools in their

communities. However, there seems to be limited

mobilisation among local civil society leaders to be

*Correspondence to: Kayanee Chor Boonpunth,Prince of Songkla

University, Faculty of Management Sciences, Hat Yai Campus,

Songkhla, 90110, Thailand.

E-mail: kayaneechor@gmail.com

Journal of Public Affairs

Volume 16 Number 4 pp 376–383 (2016)

Published online 17 February 2016 in Wiley Online Library

(www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.1598

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.