Suchergebnisse

This article aims to take critical look into political participation patterns and concerns of female local politicians who are also ethnic minorities in Thailand. The representation of women on local councils is low throughout the country, but it tends to be a particular problem in areas occupied by indigenous, minority ethnic groups. The research is based on the hypothesis that women politicians from minority ethnic groups may have to downplay the gender dimension in public policy in order to appeal to the voters and overcome cultural barriers to entering the public political sphere. They need to show that they can project the dignity and capability of their ethnic group, win resources and information from the state, and bring this recognition and other benefits back to their electorate. The article analyzes the role of creative compromise and other coping strategies essential for women in such situations, based on case study of prominent woman politician in the Mae Wang District.

This article analyzes the conceptualization and depiction of Thailand's public policy on education for the children of migrant workers in the country by examining a cluster of fairly recent literature on the subject. The studied texts broadly share the view that Thailand's policy of providing full education to these children is subject to gaps and patchy implementation. An analytical review of the literature on conceptualizing this policy shows, however, that this picture is misleading as it tends to reduce policy to an idealized intention. Rather, Thailand has a plurality of local policies ambiguously governed by a national policy, which in turn does not predominantly aim at education for all. We contend that our improved characterization of the situation helps create more productive openings for research and policy change on this important topic.