Development in the Western Wind: Thai Identity in 2015

Abstract

The predominant discourses of Thai national identity have been peaceful/harmonious, democratic, neoliberal/capitalist, regressive/backward, and progressive/modern/civilized. Neoliberal/capitalist and democratic identities are mainly retrieved from elite texts while identities are mostly found in mass texts. Both elites and masses accord equal importance to regressive/backward and progressive/modern/civilized identities. In the elites’ perspective, neoliberal/capitalist identity is essential for the emergence of associated identities, for instance, progressive/modern/civilized, economic growth, and international integration while democratic/freedom identity interconnects peaceful/harmonious, monarchy, and unstable/conflictual themes in the context of the same political situation of 2015. The primary national identities are closely connected to Western/developed countries in the sense that Thai elites have an aspiration to follow their economic and political development paths. However, there exists two principal challengers or counter-discourses: regressive/backward/underdeveloped; and unstable/conflictual, which often appear in the elites and mass texts and are incited by the impact of neoliberalism and incomplete democracy. Moreover, other positive identities, such as equality, justice, and well-being are also challenged by the counter-discourses, such as divisive/unequal and injustice/double standard. The challengers, however, reveal a consensus between the elites and masses’ perceptions and the ambition to replace them with the aforementioned positive identities.