ABSTRACT
Two models of policy interaction deserve particular attention: pluralism and corporatism. While corporatism admits the influence of interest groups on the policy and legislation of the government, it stresses the initiative and autonomy of the government. The government-business relationship in Thailand seems to fit a corporatist model better than a pluralist model. As with organized business, government relations with farm groups and labor unions are marked with corporatist features. Authoritarian corporatism is a system which is imposed by the state on societal groups. The role of business in creating corporatist arrangements and peak associations is prominent. A study of Turkey by Robert Bianchi also characterizes the relations between the government and interest groups in that country since 1960 as a liberal, multilateral corporatist system. The significant role of Thai business associations in the economy and their working relations with the government suggests an alternative to what has come to be called the “East Asian statist” model for Third World development.
