The reversal progress of Thai clientelism: The return of authoritarian bureaucratic polity after the dawn of electoral democracy

Event details

PSC Seminar Series

Date & time

Tuesday 12 July 2022
12.30pm–2pm

Venue

PSC Seminar Room 4.27 & Zoom

Speaker

Viengrat Nethipo

Contacts

Maxine McArthur

Viengrat Nethipo’s recent Thai book, Uppatham kam Krai [Clientelism and Election in the Thai Authoritarian Regime, is the source for this talk. The book investigates changes in the clientelism pattern between 2014 and 2019 under the Thai junta government (NCPO). It focuses on the authoritarian aspects of the NCPO system, which affected how the ruling elites, politicians, and general populace interacted with one another. The results demonstrated that this process had shifted political clientelism from the programmatic linkage that had previously developed during the era of electoral democracy to one that is more dependent on the traditional form of personalistic relationships.

In this presentation, Viengrat examines in more detail the origins of political clientelism in Thailand and how it changed over time. She contends that the degree of bureaucratic authority is the key to understanding the way politicians interact and connect with citizens.

Viengrat Nethipo is Associate Professor and Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She has been teaching courses on State-Society; Local Governments and Politics; Thai Politics; and Japanese Politics. Her research interests and publications are mainly about Thai politics, local politics and clientelism. Her latest book Uppatham kam Krai [Clientelism and Election in Thai Authoritarian Regime] was recently launched in May 2022. Viengrat is known as an expert on clientelism, local politics and Thailand’s democracy.

Zoom link       https://anu.zoom.us/j/87820627268?pwd=aUJkRExheHpRbUI1dzFhT1NoWkE2QT09
Meeting ID: 878 2062 7268        Password: 033854         

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