Network monarchy and legitimacy crises in Thailand

McCargo, Duncan

doi:10.1080/09512740500338937

Cited by 258 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Many protests and struggles have processes of democratisation at their heart, but they must comply with openings and opportunities in the face of the Thai political structure. While they criticise the military, as well as the civic government, they remain conspicuously silent with regard to the King's position within them, thus implicitly complying with 'network monarchy' (McCargo, 2005).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Alliances or What Alternative? TheBia Kud Chumand Community Culture in Thailand

Heis

2018

Forum for Development Studies

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The article gives a basic insight into the different currents that are part of an alternative development paradigm in Thailand. While a global trend of alternatives as reflected in the post-development critique gained momentum in the 1990s, its agents in Thailand have a much longer history. Taking up the critique of post-development approaches as remaining at a discursive level, rather than actually effecting progressive material social change, this article traces the strategic alliances, junctures and disjunctures among alternative development proponents in the north-eastern province of Yasothon. Only a couple of months after the historic financial crisis hit Thailand, and just after the 'Sufficiency Economy Philosophy' -an alternative development paradigm framed by the King -was roughly outlined in December 1997, a small rural community of five villages in the north-eastern district of Kud Chum, with a history of political dissent, started to implement a community currency network. This article suggests that the reactions and dynamics, which the implementation triggered, as well as preceding and subsequent processes of co-optation and collaboration, are very telling in terms of the overall workings of Sufficiency Economy as a political programme. The events tell a story of top-down co-optation, bottom-up strategic alliances, as well as a plethora of other interests and aims on the ground.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Alliances or What Alternative? TheBia Kud Chumand Community Culture in Thailand

Heis

2018

Forum for Development Studies

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“…The monarchy's political role is difficult to debate and analyse for a number of reasons. McCargo (2005) coined the term "network monarchy" to describe the monarchy's indirect mode of political power: this indirectness conceals the institution's very real influence, much of it exerted behind the scenes or through extra-constitutional means. Streckfuss (2011, 277-285) has argued that applications of lèse-majesté in Thailand have resulted in a "truth regime" that locates the monarchy within the sacred sphere; the prohibition of rigorous historical discussion of the monarchy has shrouded the institution in nationalist myths and ceremonial eulogies.…”

Section: The Question Of Monarchymentioning

confidence: 99%

Branding Dissent:Nitirat, Thailand’s Enlightened Jurists

McCargo

Tanruangporn²

2015

Journal of Contemporary Asia

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This article examines the political role of a group of academic lawyers based at Thammasat University who have been seeking to reform various aspects of the Thai legal and judicial system. The seven-member strong group started out by criticising the illegality of the 2006 coup. After the 2010 crackdown against redshirt protestors, the group named itself Nitirat and started to hold seminars, draft legal proposals, and campaign to amend various laws. Nitirat has repeatedly challenged the legal and constitutional underpinnings of three key elements of the Thai state: the judiciary, the military, and the monarchy. In doing so, the group has gained a mass following, drawn mainly from those sympathetic to the "redshirt" movement which broadly supports former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Informally led by scholar Worajet Pakeerat, Nitirat has created a popular branding which is reflected in huge audiences for public events, and the sales of souvenirs. The article aims to answer the following questions: How does Nitirat combine the roles of legal academic and political activist? How does it differ from the traditional mode of Thai public intellectuals? How significant is the Nitirat phenomenon?

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“…By the mid-1990s, however, Chai-Anan (1997,(55)(56) was arguing that active-duty military officers had been "bypassed" owing to diminished security concerns, while Privy Councillor, General Prem Tinsulanonda had become a "surrogate strongman." 1 In the 2000s, with more attention focused on the political power of the monarchy and Privy Council, McCargo (2005) introduced the concept of "network monarchy." Defined as "active interventions in the political process by the Thai king and his proxies" the network was described as including members of the Privy Council as well as "trusted military figures."…”

Section: Thailand's Parallel State and The Monarchised Militarymentioning

confidence: 99%