Facilitating Political Consumerism in an Emerging Economy

Thailand, an emerging economy in Southeast Asia, has witnessed the emergence of political consumerism over the last five decades. The start of political consumerism was in 1972 with a boycott of Japanese products due to their economic domination in Thailand. Since then political consumerism has acquired multiple forms. Owing to urbanization and economic development, the expanding urban middle-class has become an “agent of change.” Consumer organizations and business actors have joined forces in strengthening political consumerism. This chapter provides an overview of political consumerism in Thailand as depicted in four cases illustrating the four forms of political consumerism. The four cases demonstrate how consumers use the market as their political arena to participate in societal changes. Recommendations include further studies on mapping the relative importance of sustainability and social concerns among consumers in Thailand and suitable structures for engaging different groups of citizen-consumers in these actions.

Consumerism · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sustainability · Urbanization · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

• Cross-cultural perspectives on ethical consumption

  Open Access•Sara Karimzadeh, Magnus Boström•Journal of Consumer Culture•2024

  Add to list