Quantity, Quality, and Equality of Political Engagement in Thailand: What Does It Mean to Thai Democracy?

Recent scholarship shows that the capacity and willingness of citizens to get involved in politics depend on a variety of factors. Drawing on three latest national survey data conducting before and after the 2001, 2005, and 2007 House of Representatives election in Thailand by the King Prajadhipok's Institute, this paper presents political engagement in election's trend, and argues that the quantity of political engagement and participation in Thailand are improved because people are interested highly in the election, and have adequate knowledge about candidates and electoral process. However, because they still have moderate levels of political efficacy, we could not expect a quality of their political engagement and participation. Moreover, based on a regression analysis of the 2007 data, a gap among people with different age, level of education, and those who live in Bangkok and who do not to participate in politics is existed. An uneven distribution of civic participation is then a critical obstacle of the development of Thai democracy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]