#ThaiNiRakSaNgopButToRopMaiKhlat (Thailand Values Peace but Will Not Falter in War) : A Phenomenological Study of Hashtag Use in Social Media — The Case of Thailand and Cambodia

Abstract

This study aims to explore the phenomenon of the hashtag #ThaiNiRakSaNgopButToRopMaiKhlat in the context of the Thailand-Cambodia border clash in May 2025. Employing the framework of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and hermeneutic phenomenology, the research investigates how social media users experience, interpret, and emotionally engage with the hashtag as both a discursive and affective tool. The findings reveal that the hashtag serves not only as a mechanism of state communication during moments of national crisis but also as a contested ideological space. While the Thai Army initially promoted the hashtag to foster unity and national sentiment, it was later appropriated by some users to question military legitimacy and oppose potential coupsillustrating the phenomeno of semantic shift and the existence of multiple realities, as proposed by Alfred Schutz. Furthermore, the hashtag played a key role in creating an affective atmosphere of engagement, enabling users to construct shared experiences through posts, memes, and protestrelated content. These actions demonstrate that digital hashtags are not merely symbolic but are embedded in embodied social practices that bridge online and offline realities. Ultimately, this research underscores the dynamic power of hashtags as socio-political tools in the digital era, facilitating identity formation, emotional expression, and ideological negotiation within networked publics.