ABSTRACT
There is an emerging orthodoxy in development studies, based on discourses of ‘bottom-up’ planning, ‘grassroots’ development or popular participation (Uphoff 1991; Thomas and Potter 1992). In Thailand, the notion of popular participation has become influential and has been adopted by NGOs and, increasingly, in government development policy and planning documents. This chapter explores issues of participation and power in rural Thailand through a focus on state policies and practices of local development. The first section reviews current theoretical perspectives on participatory development and issues relating to its implementation in Thailand. The second section highlights some of the contradictions and conflicts in the state's approach to local participation through a case study of village schools as agencies of development in the rural Northeast.
