Concepts and Ideologies Affecting Success or Failure of Thai Political Parties from 2001 to 2023

Abstract

In this thesis, the researcher explores the following topics: (1) the ideologies and frameworks underlying Thai political parties registered as such (2) the determinants of electoral success the parties; and (3) provides tailored recommendations for political society. This mixed-methods study employed documentary analysis, interviews with key informants, and a questionnaire-based survey. The findings are as follows. (1) The political ideologies of the Thai political parties from 2000 onwards could be divided into three categories: neoliberalism; social democracy; and conservation. Conservation could be subdivided into liberal conservatism; paternalistic conservatism; authoritarian conservatism; and the new right conservatism. (2) The political ideologies of the Thai political parties from 2000 onwards exhibited more outstanding characteristics as a result of the proclamation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2540 (1997) with the goals for political reform using the guidelines to promote a strong political party system leading to the establishment of a government with political stability. This could solve the problem of the weak politics of the system of a coalition government with many political parties. The political parties therefore had a major adjustment by presenting policies and political party images which were outstanding in concepts and ideologies for members of the general public to vote for and support. The provisions regarding the political parties in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2550 (2007) and B.E. 2560 (2017) resulted in the weakness of political parties. (3) The political ideologies of neoliberalism as appeared through the policies, political behaviors and the administration of the country of the Thai Rak Thai Party in the 2001 election, the People Power Party in 2007, and the Pheu Thai Party in 2011, 2019, and 2023 directly and indirectly affected success in the election. The social democracy exhibited success in the election of the Move Forward Party or the Future Forward Party in the elections in 2019 and 2023. The new right conservatism affected the political success of the Palang Pracharath Party in the 2019 election.