Clientelism under the NCPO Regime: New Networks in the Old Pattern

Abstract

This research aims to survey clientelism under the Thai junta government (NCPO) between 2014 and 2019. The clientelism in this study refers to the informal networks between different political actors. By applying the frameworks of clientelism and regime types, it seeks to explain how the clientelistic networks were transformed under this regime. The focal points are on the transformation of the relations between the state and politicians and between politicians and citizens.  Based on the information from documents, in-depth interviews and observation in various provinces, it demonstrates various mechanisms the regime utilized to consolidate its power and the outcomes that shaped the networks. These types of clientelistic networks are analyzed in terms of the correlation between the regime’s political mechanisms and the outcomes that shaped the networks. I argue that this correlation would not only explain electoral outcomes, but also indicate the institutional strength of political parties and the dynamics of political clientelism. It becomes clear that this process reversed the trend in Thai political clientelism toward one that relies more on the old form of personalistic relationships and the bureaucracy that plays important roles in the networks. This clearly makes democratization more difficult.