From Securitization to Weaponization
The NGO Draft Act and the Criminalization of Non-state-led Development in Thailand
Keywords:
Thailand, Authoritarian Legalism, Civil Society in Thailand, NGO Draft ActAbstract
This article examines Thailand’s NGO Draft Act as part of a broader shift toward securitized governance and symbolic control of civil society. While framed as a regulatory reform, the Draft Act reinforces a legal environment where independent organizations face increased surveillance, compliance burdens, and discursive suspicion. Drawing on documentary research and critical discourse analysis, the article explores how terms like “public order”, “morality” and “foreign influence” function to recast NGOs as threats rather than development partners. Building on Laungaramsri’s critique of moral regulation and Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic power, the article argues that the Draft Act does not simply constrain civil society, it redefines its legitimacy through ideological alignment and procedural filtering. Rather than banning organizations outright, the law institutionalizes cautious self-regulation, narrowing civic space under the appearance of legal neutrality. By bridging securitization theory, autocratic legalism and symbolic power, the article shows how legal reforms can be deployed to criminalize dissent while preserving a façade of democratic order.
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