Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the relationship between the politics of the locality, the province and the nation from the 1950s to the present day, focusing on the 1990s. It traces changing patterns of rural leadership and the increasing dominance of local political office by a new stratum of rural economic elite, a process that despite its ubiquity remains relatively undocumented. Local entrepreneurs have manoeuvred to dominate community leadership positions, and deploy their new-found wealth to secure office in elections. The decentralization and devolution of administrative and fiscal powers to elected bodies is increasingly seen as a panacea for reforming over-centralized and unresponsive states such as Thailand. Rodan argues for a discriminating interpretation that encompasses only those groups who undertake 'regular attempts to advance the interests of members through overt political action'.