ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the issues through its discussion of the hegemonic agri-food system as it unfolded in Thailand between 1990 and 2014. It discusses the hegemonic agri-food system in Thailand by exploring hegemonic production–distribution practices. The chapter also discusses hegemonic governance structures which facilitate the mainstream agri-food system in Thailand, with emphasis on the roles of domestic forces such as the Thai state and transnational forces such as global governance bodies. It describes the hegemonic ideational order: a combination of transnational neo-liberal/capitalist ideas as well as domestic historical-cultural mentality in Thailand, such as that of patron–client, which aid capital accumulation through the mainstream agri-food system in Thailand. The chapter explores the deeply rooted Sakdina patron–client mentality in Thai society which underlies informal norms of patron–client relation. It explains hegemonic transnational neo-liberal ideologies and neo-classical economic ideas, modernisation development theory, and compartmentalised knowledge as hegemonic ideas that aid capital accumulation through the agri-food system.
