realthailand

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

'traditional' Thai patronage system prevents corruption free elections

A good response to some of the 'school teacher' letters The Nation has been receiving from the usual pedantic sources (sexpats and foreign retirees), who naively laud elections as the be-all and end-all of a democratic system.

Comments from readers that you have published, especially from foreigners, do not show an adequate appreciation of the Thai political situation. It is indeed the democratic ideal to effect change through the ballot box.

However, in addition to the fact that Thai elections are usually marred by fraud, ballot-stuffing, vote-buying and other shenanigans, it is not an accurate barometer of popular sentiment when three-quarters of MPs are re-elected, no matter to which party they belong. Patron-client bonds still have deep roots in Thai society, especially in the Northeast. Putting together a sufficient number of these die-hard politicos and their relatives is sufficient to create an electoral "mandate".


An exhaustive explanation of the Thai patronage system would take more coffee than I have on hand at this hour, but suffice it to say that in the rural areas there exist paternalistic power heirarchies very similar to feudal times. The "pooyai" (big daddy) in a village or organization is supposed to protect and care for the ordinary peasants or workers who bestow in return their uncritical and unquestioning loyalty. 'Protect and care' is usually on the level of monetary handouts, as few leaders are good at global planning or the "vision thing." It's doubtful anyway that most peasants would have the education or attention span to base their fealty on true policy oriented leadership, at least at present. Vote buying, although illegal, is but a natural extension of this traditional and pre-existing patron client relationship.