Monetary sources of political party and political mob in Thailand during B.E. 2548-2557

Abstract

The research of funding sources of political parties and political movements in Thailand during B.E. 2548-2557. The purposes of this dissertation were as following (1) to study the necessity that the political parties acquired the funding from other sources which not be financial supporting from Thai state to political including the funding supporting acquisition of political movements for political activities (2) to study the patronage relationship among capitalists, political parties, people and political movements in Thailand. The research instrument was qualitative research on documentary survey approach that studied with the relevant documents in the both of primary and secondary data and also in-depth interviewing with the key informant interviews who were scholars or handled the information and related issues and someone were specified in advance so that to be reference information and data processing according to research contents and objectives.

The research findings found that

The sample group were the important political group and the important political operations during the year B.E. 2548-2557 that significantly affected to political phenomena in Thai society. The information was gathered from various medias in terms of the funding affecting to political operations including the source of funding that influenced or dominated by political operations of political parties or political movements. This research made the researcher discovered some important factors of funding supporting that contributed the political parties and political movements and influenced to political operations of political group.

The mechanism of funding in Thai politics and the political phenomena that occurred under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand 1997 after the major economic crisis in Thailand which one of the cause was the mismanagement of government and politicians at that time. There were some giant capitalist groups who could survive on that crisis and continually run their businesses. Under the leadership of Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra of the Shinawatra group at that time had gathered politicians, academics and other big capitalist groups who were interested in politics on behalf of the Thai Rak Thai Party.

One of the important factors that influenced the political party under the leadership of Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra won in the general election over the past decade was the plenty of funding from the party leader and the capitalist group that contributed the continually political operations especially the voting period. Plenty of funding from the party leader, Dr. Taksin Shinawatra and his family including the large capitalist group who were the political alliance and made the political group under Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra to be the financial strength and stable status in political power in the public administration through democratic elections.

The mechanism of Thai political funding essentially contributed to the political phenomena that occurred in Thai society especially after the political reform under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand in 1997 and 2007, funding was the one of major factors which made the political empowered to the political group both of inside and outside the state council. The government who lacked of neutrality and empowered the state power that made the conflict of interest between the national interest and the interest of group.

The political patronage relationship occurred from the political policies for someone or some group under the patronage system which came from the fundamental of Thai cultural society. Some group was familiar with the political bargaining and benefits exchanging. The findings found that many modern political parties empowered the state power to build the new patronage system and offer the enormous concrete benefits through the public policies.

The political patronage was the relationships between the government or political parties as the patrons and the people who took the benefits as beneficiary. The concepts of most populist policies were supporting and beneficial to major people in the society for the above political purposes. The political regime of Thailand, the almost people were political majority and had the right to promote the policy makers to be the winner in the election in finally.