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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 19:2 (2020) ► pp.251–269

Reconciliation as a political discourse in Thailand’s current conflicts

| Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand
ORCID logo | King Prajadhipok’s Institute, Thailand

Why do Thai governments fail in maintaining peace through conducting a reconciliation process? This article answers this question through an assessment of how the term reconciliation has been defined and used by the Thai governments and political leaders during the past decades. This article finds that the political conflicts in Thailand have never been solved because several times, reconciliation in the Thai language is a term that has been dynamically interpreted and applied by leaders of the conflicting groups as a means to defeat the people of the opposing groups rather that a means of resolving problems and reconciling society.

Keywords: reconciliation, discourse, political conflict, Thailand
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Reconciliation in conflict transformation theories
  • 3.The definitions of reconciliation in the Thai language and context
  • 4.Reconciliation policies during the periods of Surayud, Samak, and Somchai: Finding the ways back to the Harmonious Thai society through conflict resolution and management methods
  • 5.Reconciliation policies during the periods of Abhisit and Yingluck: Applying the transitional justice ideas to reconcile the Thai society
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 31 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.18054.tha
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