ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the some major ways in which globalization intersects with regulatory character, through self-reliance and formalism, elements at opposite ends of that character. From the perspective of workers, globalization simply re-emphasized the need for self-reliance, a condition that was very familiar. In some sense, the economic changes brought about by globalization were incorporated in a manner that fitted a familiar condition – the need for self-reliance. The economic reforms that aimed to promote a competitive international market fed into the self-reliance within Thai regulatory character demanding greater resilience. Global rationalism, the process whereby ideals and philosophies were translated into rules and procedures, was best exemplified by rules governing the market. Thus, the separation of self-reliance from patriarchy within the individualistic ideal of economic reform had a related impact whereby the basis for authority in the international arena shifted to rules, in particular rules that entrenched the market and market mechanisms within local communities.
