Suchergebnisse

Purpose
– Using the concept of human security, the purpose of this paper is to explore the subjective perception of insecurities experienced by Thai subcontracted workers in industrial value chains and examines how they mitigate these insecurities.


Design/methodology/approach
– This paper uses a qualitative approach and analyses the narratives from in-depth interviews with 23 female subcontracted workers in low-income communities in Bangkok, Thailand. Four male subcontracted workers were also interviewed to compare gender differences. Five key informant interviews with NGOs and academicians were conducted.


Findings
– There are three main findings. First, subcontracted workers' economic insecurities are influenced by their work and personal trajectories in the labour market. Second, many of their health and care-related insecurities are fuelled by relational rather than individual experience; that is, they are worried they will not be able to provide care for their children, to fulfil their responsibility as mothers, or they are concerned with the effects of their hazardous work environment on their family members. Third, most subcontracted workers mitigate their insecurities using their immediate relational network in the absence of formal protection.


Originality/value
– While earlier literature on subcontracted workers' vulnerabilities in Thailand discussed the issues from a politico-economic perspective, this paper uses the concept of human security, which enables us to better understand their insecurities as context-specific experiences in their daily lives.

This study examines the political implications of women's participation in social movements in Thailand. Based on interviews at protest sites and focus group discussions with movement participants as well as interviews with leaders and key informants, the study suggests that political socialization within what is commonly called the color-coded movements has resulted in women acquiring political knowledge and learning about political engagement while being increasingly accepted as competent political actors. Consequently, women have utilized the Red and Yellow Shirt movements to increase their engagement in politics in three different ways. First, women form groups to enhance their political roles and opportunities within the movements. Second, women are expanding their political roles beyond those offered by the color-coded movements by becoming informal representatives, bridging their communities with formal political agents and institutions. Finally, women are increasingly entering into formal politics through the support of their movements.

Pt.1: The meanings of political reform. Wasi, P.: An overview of political reform issues. Boonmi, T.: Good governance. A stragegy to restore Thailand. Connors, M.: Framing the "people's constitution". Suwannathat-Pian, K.: The monarchy and constituional change since 1972. Streckfuss, David ; Templeton, Mark: Human rights and political reform in Thailand. Schmidt, Johannes Dragsbaek: Democratization and social welfare in Thailand. Pt.2: The popular sector. Ockey, James: Civil society and street politics. Lessons from the 1950s. Phatharathananunth, Somchai: Civil society and democratization in Thailand. A critique of elite democracy. Hewison, Kevin: Responding to econmic crisis. Thailand's localism. Doneys, Philippe: Political reform through the public sphere. Women's groups and the fabric of governance. Thabchumpon, Naruemon: NGOs and grassroots participation in the political reform process. Pt.3: Electoral reform. Chantornvong, Sombat: The 1997 constitution and the politics of electoral reform. Arghiros, Daniel: Political reform and civil society at the local level. Thailand's local government reforms. McCargo, Duncan: Thailand's January 2001 general elections. Vindicating reform? Girling, John: Economics, politics and civil society. (Conclusion)

The number of women parliamentarians in Myanmar increased during the last decade of democratization before the February 2021 coup d'état yet remained extremely low at about 15% of parliament in the 2020 election. This paper uses the concept of political pathway to explore barriers and opportunities that women parliamentarians experienced along their life course. It does so through in-depth interviews conducted in early 2020 with 20 women and 10 men parliamentarians elected in the 2015 general election. Results suggest that women tend to take distinct pathways from men and face specific opportunities and barriers through supply-driven factors such as parental socialization, experience of national crises, available peer networks, acquired professional experiences, and available family support, and through a main demand-driven factor in party recruitment and politics. This informs recommendations in the conclusion in terms of increasing resources and support available to women and addressing discrimination by political parties.