The Conflict in Thailand's Deep South and Its International Implications.

Authors

  • Omar Farouk Bajunid Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2009.5.3

Abstract

It was partly the unresolved conflict in Thailand's deep south, accentuated since January 2004 that led to the military coup of September 19, 2006 which abruptly ended the premiership of ThaksinShinawatra and his regime. Today the resuscitated democracy followingthe general election of December 2007 is still in a state of turbulence.The underlying reasons for this have not changed much. The connectionbetween the conflict in Thailand's deep south and the Thailand 'spolitical instability at the centre is too obvious to escape notice. Therehave been many attempts to try to understand Thailand 's politicaldilemmas. As Thailand's deep south is culturally Malay, unlike the rest of Thailand, and has a chronic history of rebellion against central rule inBangkok, Malay-Muslim separatism is assumed to be the root cause of the problem. This paper argues that the on-going conflict in Thailand 'sdeep south is actually a function of a complex interplay of factors. Theinterconnected issues of the struggle for cultural autonomy, Thai national security, irredentism, the fear of international terrorism, geopolitics, the dynamics of regional integration, the growing posture of civil society and the pervasive role of the media demonstrate thiscomplexity as well as its international implications.

 

References

Chaiwat Satha-Anand, The Life of This World: Negotiated Muslim Lives in Thai Society. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic.2005 Chalk, Peter, “Separatism and Southeast Asia: The Islamic Factor in Southern Thailand, Mindanao, and Aceh” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 24, 2001 Dorairajoo, Saroja, “The Ghost of Separatism Revived:The Current Status of the Separatist Movemen in Thailand” in Vivienne Wee, ed. Political Fault Lines in Southeast Asia: Movements for Alternative Sovereignty in Nation States. London: Routledge. 2005 cette eens e neem nnnnne,.’Khaoyam Violence: A Survey of Some of the Factors Contributing to the violence in Southern Thailand” in Asian Cultural Studies, Special Issue. Tokyo: Institute of Asian Cultural Studies, International Christian University, 2005. Human Rights Watch Report,"It Was Like Suddenly My Son No Longer Existed”: Enforced Disappearances in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces. Volume 19, No. 5(C), March 2007. World Report 2006: Events of 2005. New York:Human Rights Watch and Seven Stories Press, 2006. Imtiyaz Yusuf, “The Ethno-Religious Dimension of the Conflict in Southern Thailand” in Imtiyaz Yusuf and Lars Peter Schmidt [eds.] Understanding Conflict and Approaching Peace in Southern Thailand, Bangkok: Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung, 2006. International Crisis Group Asia Report No.129, 15 March 2007. Liow, Joseph Chinyong, “ Violence and the Long road to Reconciliation in Southern Thailand” in Cady Linell E. and Simon, Sheldon W. ed. Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia: Disrupting Violence. The Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict and the National Bureau of Asian Research. London and New York: Routledge, 2007, pp.154-171. 56 Omar Farouk Bajunid Nair, Shanti. Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy. London and New York: Routledge. 1997. Nik Anuar Nik Mahmud. The Malays of Patani: The Search for Security and Independence. Bangi: National University of Malaysia, 2006. Omar Farouk Bajunid. “The Malaysian Factor in the Prospects for Peace in Southern Thailand” in Imtiyaz Yusuf and Lars Peter Schmidt [eds.] Understanding Conflict and Approaching Peace in Southern Thailand, Bangkok: Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung, 2006., “The Pathology of Muslim Militancy in South Thailand” in Asian Cultural Studies, Special Issue. Tokyo: Institute of Asian Cultural Studies, International Christian University, 2005. “Islam, Nationalism and the Thai State” in Wattana" Sugannasil, ed., Dynamic Diversity in Southern Thailand, Chiangmai:Silkworm Books, 2005. "The Origins and Evolution of Malay-Muslim Ethnic Nationalism in Southern Thailand" in Taufik Abdullah and Sharon Siddique, ed.,/slam and Society in Southeast Asia, 1986, pp.250-281. "The Historical and Transnational Dimensions of Malay-Muslim Separatism in Southern Thailand" in Lim Joo Jock and Vani S., ed., Armed Separatism in Southeast Asia, ISEAS, Singapore, 1984, pp.234-257. Report of the National Reconciliation Commission. Overcoming Violence Through the Power of Reconciliation. Bangkok: National Reconciliation Commission,2005.[Unofficial Translation] Srisompob Jitpiromsri and Panyasak Sobhonvasu, “Unpacking Thailand’s Southern Conflict: The Poverty of Structural Explanations” in Critical Asian Studies, 38:1.2006, pp.95-117. Supara Janchitfah. Violence in the Mist: Reporting on the Presence of Pain in Southern Thailand. Bangkok: Kobfai Publishing Project, 2004., Violence in the Mist 11: In the Name of Justice. Bangkok: Kobfai Publishing Project, 2008. Syed Hamid Albar. Selected Foreign Policy Speeches. Kuala Lumpur: Institute of

Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Malaysia, 2005. Thanet Amphornsuvan. Rebellion in Southern Thailand:Contending Histories. Policy Studies 35. Washington:East-West Center, 2007. International Cooperation and Network Influences in Asia Pacific: The Case of Malaysia Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani Abstract Many Malaysian companies with business activities in the Asia Pacific region have strategic alliances with local companies. An exploratory overview of their strategic orientation and performance reveals that they are mostly local market oriented, and their success is closely associated with three factors; working relationships with partners, difficulties in partnering agreements, and difficulties arising from environment and cultural differences. These three factors remain important regardless of the varying objectives, motives and opinions concerning the benefits and governance of the alliances. Introduction In the last two decades, the world market environment has changed dramatically. Breath taking advances in communication technology, increased world commerce, deregulation, privatization, and lowering of trade barriers have to a great extent integrated individual country markets into one global market. Rapid developments and diffusion of industrial technology have also resulted in a regular stream of new products coming into the market. At the same time, the enormous capital requirements for research and development and increased product sophistication have meant that companies can seldom undertake all operations alone. Irrespective of how large and resourceful a company is, it cannot have a competitive advantage in each and every step of producing and marketing a product for world markets. Consequently, strategic alliances are often the instrument international companies choose to maintain or advance their competitive positions. The proliferation of strategic alliances has generated much discussion among practitioners and business academicians on the conceptual foundations of alliances (Buckley and Casson 1988; Contractor and Lorange 1988; Crouse 1991; Culpan 1993; Jain 1987; Ohmae 1989; Sheth and Pravatiyar 1992; Varadarajan and Cunningham 1995), on their performance (e.g., Beamish 1987; Chowdhury 1992; Geringer and Herbert 1989) and conditions for their success (e.g., Bleeke and Ernst 1991; Dussauge and Garrette 1995; Dymsa 1988; Harrigan 1988; Lorange and Roos 1991). While recognizing that there are many possible scenarios of strategic partnering, and that there is no single determinant nor simple measure of alliance success, general agreement exists that there

Downloads

Published

20-12-2009

How to Cite

Bajunid, O. F. (2009). The Conflict in Thailand’s Deep South and Its International Implications. Journal of International Studies, 5, 40-56. https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2009.5.3

Most read articles by the same author(s)