Democracy and National Identity in Thailand

by Michael Kelly Connors

This book seeks to illuminate how Thai elites have used democracy as an instrument for order and discipline. Drawing on interviews, numerous Thai language sources, and critical theory, the author reveals a remarkable adaptation of the idea of democracy in the Thai context. Connors shows how elites have drawn on Western political theory to design projects to create modern citizens. He argues that it is possible to see the idea and practice of elite liberal democracy in Thailand, and elsewhere, as a key ideological resource in the project of securing hegemony over undisciplined populations. In this perspective the ideas of civil society, civic virtue, social capital and democracy itself are all part of the weaponry deployed in an effort to create 'good citizens', who act as guardians of the elite defined common good.

282 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2002

About the author

Associate Professor in Global Studies and Deputy Head of School (Education), School or Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University Malaysia. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne (Political Science).

Before joining Monash Malaysia in August 2021, Michael worked as a lecturer in a number of institutions including Thammasat University, La Trobe University, University of Leeds, City University of Hong Kong, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus and Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. Among his service roles are Head of Department (XJTLU), Head of School (Nottingham), Director of Research (XJTLU), and Faculty Chair, Graduate Studies (La Trobe). He was in 2016-2017 a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University where he convened a workshop on political ideologies, commenced a translation project (Thai to English), and wrote several papers on populism, corruption and political theory.

Michael currently views his work as lying in the emerging field of global area studies. He has a keen interest in local manifestations of global moments including political events, ideas and culture. Many of his publications explore these through a study of Thailand. He also works in the area of International Relations and is especially interested in the foreign policies of Australia, Thailand and Japan, Gramscian IR, and the politics of civilisade. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Contemporary Asia and Asian Review.

His research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, the British Academy of the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Australian Academy of the Humanities, among others.