Movement under the National Council for Peace and Order Government: A case study of the Anti-EEC Urban Planning movement in B.E. 2562

Abstract

This research article examines the occurrence, the development, and the tactics of the movement to oppose land use plans and plans for the development of infrastructure and public utilities within the Eastern Special Development Zone (EEC) B.E. 2562, as well as the limitations experienced in the movement under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) government. The study employs the conceptual framework of Political Opportunity Structure and Resources Mobilization Theory, using a qualitative approach and analyzing three types of data: document research, field research, and in-depth interviews. The findings reveal that the EEC project emerged amid political circumstances in which the NCPO government had exercised special powers to implement the project rapidly without local people's participation, resulting in issues related to land expropriation and environmental problems. As a result, the Mobilization of the EEC movement occurred with the goal of “Canceling the EEC Urban Planning”. Although the movement was ultimately unsuccessful due to limitations imposed by the NCPO government, it was able to adjust its strategies and tactics to create impact in the public space, the parliament, and the Administrative Court.