Security, development and political participation in Thailand: alternative currencies of legitimacy.: An article from: Contemporary Southeast Asia

This digital document is an article from Contemporary Southeast Asia, published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) on April 1, 2002. The length of the article is 7373 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: This article argues that Thailand's political elites have employed three different "currencies" in their quest for legitimacy since 1932. These "currencies" are defined as: security, development, and political accommodation or participation. Different currencies have enjoyed different degrees of salience according to prevailing domestic and international conditions. While security was a crucial legitimating rationale during the Cold War, since the economic crisis and the new constitution of 1997, political participation has loomed largest. The article examines the career of former army commander and prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, in order to illustrate the changing value of alternative sources of legitimacy from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. It argues that despite the growing importance of political participation, fundamental inequalities of power and resources persist in contemporary Thailand.

Citation Details
Title: Security, development and political participation in Thailand: alternative currencies of legitimacy.
Author: Duncan McCargo
Publication:Contemporary Southeast Asia (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2002
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)
Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Page: 50(18)

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