Conflict resolution in the 3 southern border provinces of Thailand : policy process and outcomes

Abstract

The roots of the problem of insurgency and violence in the 3 southern border provinces of Thailand, which occurred 11 years ago, are deeply seated in the areas and have affected every aspect of society. Therefore, this study is intended for an overview of the conflict resolution: policy, process and outcomes. The objectives of this study are to analyze 1) the development of the unrest situation from the past to the present 2) the development of policies to tackle the unrest in the 3 southern border provinces 3) the policy implementation process by considering the role of the main agencies that respond to the conflict resolution in the 3 southern border provinces 4) the policy implementation outcomes 5) the key factors that affected the policy implementation outcomes and 6) the remaining problems and obstacles. This study is a qualitative research, employing several research methods, including documentary research, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions by providing keyinformants. Then, the data were analyzed in descriptive analysis for its description.

In this study, relevant academic papers conducted by Thai researchers as well as oversea scholars on the unrest in the 3 southern border provinces were reviewed as well as the lessons from Thailand , China, Indonesia and the Philippines. The lessons learnt and experiences from the conflict resolutions, the results of the action plan of the agency, the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC) and the in-depth interviews of Executives and Head of Operations were compared and evaluated. To find the factors that resulted in policy implementation outcomes, the Pressman and Wildavsky model is synthesized and a new concept is designed called the NIDA Deep South Model to fit the context and security policy in the 3 southern border provinces.

To solve the conflict in the 3 southern border provinces it is necessary to have the support through organization competency such as adequacy of resources, quality of personnel, good leadership and motivation that contributes to the factor of communication in the policy process at all levels in order to make the communication process more efficient. These factors must be supported as they can affect the policymaking which is essential to the agencies that cooperate with the other agencies. The complexity of joint action requires organization competency in order to coordinate with the other agencies as well as to have the ability to solve the lag in project problems that occur including the following factors: value, feeling management and popularity factor of urban areas.

The authority should have a powerful role in shaping the discourse such as the peace dialogue process discourse and the Tung Yang Dang Model, to solve the problems in the 3 southern border provinces, to cause rapid, continuous and concrete impacts.