This book provides a meticulously detailed and insightful account of Banharn Silpa-archa (b. 1932), a former prime minister of Thailand and elected member of parliament (1976–2008) from Suphanburi province to the north of Bangkok. It unveils the roots of popular support for Banharn, who has come to epitomise corrupt provincial politicians who rise to power through vote-buying, electoral fraud and violence, in his case allegedly achieved through the manipulation of a vast network of vulnerable rural clients.
Yoshinori Nishizaki's study offers an alternative interpretation of the behaviour and practices of rural populations in Thailand, generally portrayed in a negative light by previous studies as a pliant tool of local strongmen (often corrupt and violent), a group to be distinguished from their more modernised and politically progressive urban counterparts and an impediment to ‘good governance’ and democracy in Thailand. By contrast, Nishizaki's extensive fieldwork in Thailand (1999–2007), drawing on a wide variety of sources including hundreds of interviews, Thai-language materials, provincial newspapers and official documents, demonstrates that rural people are no less rational or autonomous than their urban counterparts and have their own legitimate reasons for supporting particular politicians.
Nishizaki shows first that the role of vote-buying in Thai elections has been over-emphasised by the academic and policy communities, since almost all candidates dispense money as a ‘defensive’ ritualistic act, and thus the practice has only limited utility in explaining why some candidates are elected over others. Banharn's rise to power is particularly intriguing, especially in light of the fact that only half of the provincial population in his electorate have benefited directly from his development projects and, conversely, that some of his beneficiaries do not support him as vote canvassers.
Nishizaki then moves on to demonstrate the non-material, or social-psychological, dimension to Banharn's political authority — in essence, his ability to enhance the image and reputation of Suphanburians' provincial identity. Nishizaki argues that Banharn's generous donations, allocation of state funds, and disciplined leadership at the local level have revitalised the collective pride of Suphanburians, renewing a deeply cherished provincial identity closely associated with its glorious historical past — but one that has been marginalised throughout the period of the modern Thai state.
Nishizaki does not deny the many negative attributes of Banharn cited by his critics and opponents (which include alleged corruption and policy blunders during his short-lived administration, held to have contributed to Thailand's economic crisis in 1997). While he acknowledges that very few of Banharn's supporters actually worship Banharn as a living god, Nishizaki notes that they were willing to condone misappropriation of public funds as long as Banharn prioritised the needs of their home areas and his behaviour did not undermine the collective interests of their community. Other supporters affirmed that Banharn had strong positive qualities that compensated for his corrupt practices, and that his actions fell within the bounds sanctioned by Thai custom. Some went further, arguing that Thai politics is so ‘full of intrigue that ordinary citizens need a dirty politician to obtain what they want from the state’ (p. 187).
Nishizaki thus contends that it would be futile for political scientists to look for ‘objective’ criteria proving that Suphanburians have been ‘fooled’ by Banharn since the political narratives favoured by Suphanburians, albeit exaggerated and often spurious, reflect their deeply cherished beliefs and are impervious to scientific or logical refutation. This local pride has a firm, tangible basis in the form of the numerous development projects that Banharn has implemented over several decades through a combination of personal wealth and institutional power rooted in the central patrimonial state. As a consequence of these attitudes, and through their political choices, Suphanburians have been actively and autonomously engaged in constructing the story of their province and the place Banharn occupies in it.
Nishizaki concludes by asserting that it is perfectly normal in any society for individuals and groups to support politicians of different stripes at different times, depending on their particular needs and expectations. He goes further to contend that it is actually ‘these well educated elites’, ‘not uneducated rural based voters’, who have impeded Thailand's democratisation process by employing anti-rural and anti-monarchist nationalist populist discourse to discredit particular rural-based politicians. Nishizaki urges urban elites and political parties to win elections by adopting policies that address the multiple and diverse needs of voters, rather than resorting to coups and crude legal manoeuvres. This, according to Nishizaki, will build a path toward more functional government and a vibrant democracy in Thailand.
While this book of 236 pages can be excessively detailed and repetitive in places, it is generally both entertaining and informative and readily accessible to non-specialists. The author skillfully weaves biography, narrative, and numerical data into thematically organised chapters and offers vivid illustrations from the grassroots. Nishizaki chanced upon these latter voices at the beginning of his fieldwork, an unanticipated discovery that inspired and shaped his research agenda. Although the book focuses on one exceptional provincial leader, it provides important background information on the history and politics of the Thai state and resources for contemporary debates in Thai studies, and is suitable for use as an undergraduate or graduate textbook. It has the important virtue of being a balanced presentation, as the author fully engages opposing views.
However, the book contains some deficits. While Nishizaki has situated this empirically grounded study within larger theoretical and comparative contexts, his predominant concern with factual details means that many of the relevant theoretical debates and pertinent comparisons are left unexamined. For instance, the idea that people can continue to support a social or political entity that fails to meet their material needs is nothing new, and has been extensively discussed in the literature on ethnic politics. How strong is provincial identity in Thailand compared with other forms of identity such as citizenship or ethnicity? Although the author provides examples of a handful of leaders who share characteristics similar to Banharn's, he could have taken advantage of the advanced studies of voters' behaviour in the West (particularly America) and discussed the extent to which Western voters' views of ‘ideal’ local politicians differed from those of rural Thai voters. It is also surprising that, while the author interviewed hundreds of respondents over a long research period, the book gives no indication that he was able to interview his protagonist, Banharn. In addition, it would have been easier for non-Thai readers to draw their own comparisons had the author translated figures such as state spending and the value of Banharn's various donations into US currency.
These quibbles aside, I would sum up Political authority and provincial identity in Thailand as an exceptional field-based study that is easy to read, highly informative, empirically rich and theoretically informed, and a book that effectively communicates to a wide range of readers, expertise and disciplinary backgrounds.
