การรวมกลุ่มทางการเมืองของ "ส.ส. อีสาน" พ.ศ. 2476-2494 / ดารารัตน์ เมตตาริกานนท์ = The political groupings of Isan members of parliament, 1933-1951 / Dararut Mattariganon
This thesis studies political groups formed by Northeastern members of parliament in the first two decades of democratic rule, which covered the periods of a non-political party system (1933-1946) and a political-party system (1946-1951). The study reveals that Northeasterners formed political associations prior to 1932 and that the basis of their sense of belonging was their shared identity as being ethnically Laos. Ethnic Lao had been divided under the political and territorial division of Laos into western Laos under the French rule and Eastern Laos under the Thai regime. Their sense of identity as "Lao" was abetted by Rama 5's centralization of the Thai government and his establishment of a northeastern "circle" or "Isan region" These actions led to the formation of localism and regionalism among "Isan" people. Northeastern members of parliament (MPs) who were elected under democratic rule formed a group based on localism and regionalism in order to negotiate better resource distribution from the central government to the Northeastern region. However, after the third general election in 1938, similarities and differences in political views among Northeastern MPs surfaced. They were then divided into two political groups, one belonging to the Free Thai movement and the other being antagonistic to the Free Thai movement. The development of a political-parties system was clearly seen in 1946. Northeastern MPs played vital roles in founding two political parties that pursued policies and ideas that were different from each other. However, outside parliament, leading Northeastern MPs united and formed a political movement known as the Free Lao movement to help Laos fight for independence. Their movement outside the parliament gave a pretext for the Phibunsongkhram government to accuse them of being secessionists and to purge Northeastern MPs who belonged to the Free Thai movement. After 1947, it became evident that factors contributed to the political affiliations of Northeastern MPs arose from their common interests. Even when northeastern MPs stopped unifying on the basis of localism and regionalism, the influence of these ideologies still persisted.
