Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Thai history, religion, political science, electoral politics, sociology, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 20 September Zoom webinar conference on Religion and Religiosity in Thai Elections: Irrelevant No Longer.

The event, on Tuesday, 20 September 2022 at 9am Bangkok time, is presented by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) – Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore.

The TU Library collection includes a number of books about different aspects of religion and electoral politics.

Students are invited to register for the webinar at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sWOOQ23tTgKY_PqyCbVNpQ

As the webinar description posted online explains:

To what extent, and how, do political parties in Thailand differentiate themselves in relation to religious matters? And to what extent, and how, do religious identity and religiosity matter for the choices that voters make at the ballot box? The consensus among scholars and pundits has long been that neither parties nor voters in Thailand regard religion as politically salient. However, evidence from the country’s 2019 general election and from the 2022 Bangkok elections challenges this conventional wisdom. Assessing the (new) political significance of religion and religiosity is important to understanding contemporary Thai politics, not least with the next Thai general election expected in 2023.

The speaker will be Associate Professor Tomas Larsson, who teaches in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom.

The TU Library owns two copies of Professor Larsson’s Land and Loyalty: Security and the Development of Property Rights in Thailand (2012), which are shelved in the circulating collection at the Pridi Banomyong Library, Tha Prachan campus.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and its Authors notes:

The relation between religion and politics continues to be an important theme in political philosophy, despite the emergent consensus (both among political theorists and in practical political contexts, such as the United Nations) on the right to freedom of conscience and on the need for some sort of separation between church and state. One reason for the importance of this topic is that religions often make strong claims on people’s allegiance, and universal religions make these claims on all people, rather than just a particular community. For example, Islam has traditionally held that all people owe obedience to Allah’s will. Thus, it is probably inevitable that religious commitments will sometimes come into conflict with the demands of politics. But religious beliefs and practices also potentially support politics in many ways. The extent and form of this support is as important to political philosophers as is the possibility for conflict. Moreover, there has been a growing interest in minority groups and the political rights and entitlements they are due. One result of this interest is substantial attention given to the particular concerns and needs of minority groups who are distinguished by their religion, as opposed to ethnicity, gender, or wealth.

This article surveys some of the philosophical problems raised by the various ways in which religion and politics may intersect. The first two main sections are devoted to topics that have been important in previous eras, especially the early modern era, although in both sections there is discussion of analogs to these topics that are more pressing for contemporary political thought: (1) establishment of a church or faith versus complete separation of church and state; and (2) toleration versus coercion of religious belief, and current conflicts between religious practice and political authority. The second pair of sections is devoted to problems that, for the most part, have come to the fore of discussion only in recent times: (3) liberal citizenship and its demands on private self-understanding; and (4) the role of religion in public deliberation.

Among researchers who have studied different aspects of electoral politics, including the impact of religion, in Thailand is Associate Professor Orathai Kokpol, PhD, of the Faculty of Political Science, Thamamat University.

Dr. Orathai’s chapter, Electoral Politics in Thailand, begins as follows:

Thailand’s new constitution of 1997 (B.E. 2540) set down new rules and a framework for various fundamental changes in the Thai political and administrative system. As such, great hopes for political reform towards sustainable democracy have been pinned on it. In particular, elections, as a necessary condition for democracy, have changed significantly. The intention is to have more open, fair and meaningful elections, as well as recruit qualified politicians into the political system. Moreover, elections are seen as a key mechanism for establishing new politics in Thailand. In the first election under this new system, that for the House of Representatives on 6 January 2001, positive steps were taken to meet these objectives. This chapter explores the new electoral system and evaluates the extent to which the performance of this new system contributes to political development towards democracy in Thailand. The chapter argues that the new electoral system and the outcome of the first elections have been inspiring for political transformation. The new electoral system serves to establish a standard for clean and fair elections, while the outcome of the elections that have taken place has contributed to several major changes in the Thai political system, such as a generation shift in the political sphere and the development of political parties. However, there is still a need for improvement in the administration of electoral processes and in the provision of political education, especially to the rural public. To set this in context the chapter begins with a look at the historical development of politics and elections in Thailand before the introduction of the new constitution. Historical Development The first significant change in Thailand’s political regime was in June 1932 when a group of junior army, navy and civilian officers (mainly Westerneducated), calling themselves the People’s Party, staged a coup d’état. Their demand was for a change from absolute to constitutional monarchy. Determined to avoid any bloodshed, King Prajadhipok (Rama VII [1925-1935]) agreed to the abolition of absolute monarchy and a transfer of power to a constitutionbased system of government. On 10 December 1932, King Prajadhipok signed Thailand’s first constitution, thus ending 800 years of absolute monarchy…

Women and Farmers Under-represented Given the results of the election of the HoR and the Senate, the question is whether the new electoral system allows every citizen to participate and to what extent the elected members are representatives of the people. By law, the electoral system grants equal political rights to all groups of citizens. Every Thai citizen who is at least 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, religion, language and occupation, has the right to vote. There is no institutional arrangement to guarantee a certain level of political representation of particular social groups. One reason is that Thai society has a high degree of homogeneity. Social conflict based on race, ethnic group, or religion is not a serious issue in Thailand. Instead, there is a requirement that the party list of each party should consist of candidates equitably distributed over all the regions of the country. The qualifying conditions for voters and candidates, such as age, education and party-affiliation, are not discriminatory, but are aimed at improving the quality of members of the HoR and the Senate, and politics as a whole.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)