ประชาธิปไตยแบบไทย : บทศึกษาผลการนำแนวคิดและกลไกระบอบประชาธิปไตยมาใช้ในเมืองไทย / ชาญวุฒิ วัชรพุกก์ = Thai democracy : A study on institutional transfer of democratic concept and mechanism to Thailand / Chanvut Vajrabukka
Thai democracy is an imported social technology from Western society. The importation in term of institutional transfer has created changed both on concept and mechanism of democracy. Such changes are the adaptation to Thai sociopolitical and economic setting. Therefore, Thai democracy, conceptually and mechanically, is a deviation from Western democracy. The objectives of this study are : to investigate on the characteristics of Thai democracy by focusing on what are they look like, how have they evolved from then to now, and which factors cause the formation and the evolution of Thai democracy thus, the method of study on the causal factors employs the political economy approach which emphasizes upon the concept of superstructure and substructure. The findings are as follow:- 1. The prominent general characteristics of Thai democracy is to open a chance for bureaucracy to enter and dominate political scene. Such entering and dominating have resulted in the deviation of democratic concept and mechanism: Conceptually: Sovereignty is not handed down to the people. Right and freedom still depend on the ruling elites. Decision making on political affairs does not rely on constitutionalism. Coup d’etat is used as means of struggle among elites, especially the bureaucrats, for political power. Mechanically: the importation of political institutions appears in “form without content”. The Upper House is assumed to be the “care-taker” of the House of Representative. But, in reality, it serves as a power base of the ruling elite in checking and balancing the power of the House of Representative. Most Prime Ministers as the head of the executive do not come from election or the House of Representative. But being appointed and supported by the bureaucracy especially the military. 2. The evolution of characteristics of Thai democracy in each period is found in this study as follow: a) Prior to B.E. 2475 under the rule of absolute monarchy, democratic mechanism was employed to improve the administration of monarchial governmental structure. b) Leading members of the People’s Party who led the 1932 revolution were lack of democratic political ideology. Their main objective was to curtail the power of the royalists. c) Consequently, the lack of conspicuous political ideology resulted in the manner of power struggle among elites during the year B.E. 2500 without any attempts to root Western democratic concept into Thai society. As already mentioned, coup d’etat had been used for power struggle, and some political mechanisms, for instances, the constitution, M.P. ‘s election as well as political parties were allowed to exhibit their roles in some extent to legitimize the ruling of the elites.
d) The B.E. 2501 Coup had put an end to the subtle democratic concept and mechanism but the abolishment of Thailand’s parliamentary system for 11 year. Ruling elites exploited bureaucratic system to legitimize their political power under the claim for national development. It was clearly realized that the more the bureaucracy was employed as a hand for economic and social development, the more the problems of political development arose. e) Under the structure of B.E. 2512 Constitution, the rule of being cabinet memberships without being parliament membership was initiated. This controversial rule or mechanism was neither concordant with parliamentary democratic concept nor create any political stability. f) Even after October B.C. 2516 which was assumed the most democratic period, the concept and mechanism of Western democracy could not fully develop owing to the lack of political institutionalization to carry on the political activeness of the people. Concurrently, the objectives of most of power groups did not aim toward democratic development but exploited the term “democracy” to cover their surreptitious destination. g) Finally, amidst the confusion of democratic line, the conservative group was able to organize and mobilize confusing mass to support them. Coup d’etats in the year B.E. 2519 and 2520 were the turning point enabling conservative group to resume its political power and role under the frame of “a half page democracy” which allows the bureaucrats and the militants to retain their political powers as well as gives some apportunity to other politicians through electoral and parliamentary mechanism.
3. The causal factors that create the afore-mentioned characteristics and evolution of Thai democracy are as follow: - a) Referring to the concept of superstructure, almost every constitution contains complicated structure aiming to pull sovereignty from the people to the bureaucratic group. Such phenomenon is the legacy from the existing state structure that bureaucratic institution is stronger than other political groups. Moreover, the concept of an imported democratic ideology has not been clarified enough to be employed to counter the existing situation. b) Referring to the concept of substructure, historically under the feudal mode of production, the formation of an independent middle class met with difficulties. Therefore, the middle class was unable to be a potentially political condition or factor to establish Western democratic system in Thai society. Nevertheless, the accumulation of foreign and Thai investment for economic development since the regime of Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat has brought about the development of an independent middle class. 4. The afore-mentioned finding on characteristics of Thai democracy and its causal factors lead to the following suggestion on policy implication and theoretical discussion about democracy in Thailand and the Third World. Suggestions on policy for democratic development: a) An effort should not be made to set and unrealistic constitutional structure in Thai politics that allows only the bureaucratic group to control political power or to set the constitution in the Western pattern which is not accommodated with the development of Thai politics in both superstructure and substructure. b) A balance between maintaining democratic concept and mechanism and opening the opportunity to bureaucratic and other political group to participate in politics is needed, for examples a provision of popular mandate, a use of other techniques of political mechanism, etc.
Discussions on theoretical implication of democracy: a) Institutional transfer of democracy to the Third World countries usually faces the problem of contradictory between popular sovereignty and sovereignty of some groups, especially the bureaucrats. Thus, it should be transferred in both concept and mechanism in order to meet successfulness. b) Although institutional transfer of democracy to Thailand has faced such above problem, the evolution of Thai political history in the last half of the century creates some acceptance of Western democratic concept and mechanism. Such acceptance is not base on the intention of parties involved, it is an accident or a “venue of coincidence” that the parties involved seem to have no other alternative.
