Buddhist Majoritarian Nationalism in Thailand

Ideological Contestation, Narratives, and Activism

Bibliographic Data

ID3986563
AuthorsJanjira Sombatpoonsiri (0000-0003-2178-7626, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, Germany, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume53
Issue3
Pages398-422
Publication date2023-05-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2022.2036360
OpenAlexW4224436810
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited42

This article examines the narratives that underpin the activism of Buddhist nationalist movements in Thailand. In arguing that these movements represent an emerging strand of Thai nationalism – Buddhist majoritarian nationalism – the focus is on three discursive components that shape the contours of the movements' narratives. The first component regards a two-prong threat against Buddhism: political elites subservient to the Muslim minority and the latter's growing influence. Second, averting these threats necessitates a new form of national consciousness that places Buddhism and Buddhists as the country's majority at the centre of national identity. Third, this ideological position accompanies the movements' aspiration to further conflate religion and polity. This argument is situated in the historical inter-relationship of the state, nationalism, and Buddhism, while tracing how recent political upheavals, including political polarisation, influence the movements' organisational development and discourses. The latter has been mainly promulgated online, but at times have inspired offline protest activism. The Thai movements display various commonalities with their counterparts in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, but their ability to challenge royal nationalism and influence explicitly religious policies remains to be seen

Buddhism · Ideology · Narrative · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Polity · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cambodian History and Society · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies