Browsing by Author "Mamadkul, Jiraroj"

This research aims at analysing Thai foreign policies during the period 2000 – 2015 and its relevance with the middle power concept of international relations in order to justify Thailand as a middle power. The five selected foreign policies are Thailand’s participation in peacekeeping operations under the United Nations (UN), the active role of Thailand in ASEAN, Thailand’s overseas assistance program under Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and the Ayeyawady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS). This study utilised the qualitative methodology, which combined various data collection methods, namely documentary study, secondary statistics and semi-structured interviews. This study also focused primarily on capability and behavioural approaches of the middle power concept to analyse Thailand’s capabilities and its behavioural pattern of foreign policies. This study confirmed that Thai foreign policies are always adjusted following the changes in international and regional configuration. Its domestic politics is also a significant factor that affects its international activism. In terms of capability, this study found that Thailand is categorised as a middle power in the Asia-Pacific. Moreover, Thai foreign policies are conducted in accordance with and correspond to the behavioural patterns of a middle power, which can justify Thailand as a middle power. Therefore, this research argues that Thailand can be recognised as an emerging middle power in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting its bottom-rank position in the middle power group. However, there is no such self-proclaimation as a middle power from its authorities.

The objective of this study is to examine the roles and functions of the Provincial Islamic Committee of Bangkok (PIC). It also discusses and analyses the effectiveness of the organisation by using the organisational approach as a framework for analysis. The organisational approach includes the organisational structure, goals as well as environments. The approach aims at trying to answer the problems of the organisation and to suggest ways to improve the organisational performance. This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Interview and survey techniques were used to collect data. The interview has been conducted to Mr. Samai Jareonchang, the president of the Provincial Islamic Committee of Bangkok (PIC). The survey has used a sample of 200 Muslims in Bangkok. The 100 Muslims are located in the urban region of Bangkok while another 100 Muslims are located in the suburb area. This quantitative method aims at analysing frequencies and percentages of topics related to the PIC’s effectiveness. The result of the study indicates that the organisation plays the most important role towards Muslim communities, especially in providing services to them. However, the researcher has found that the major problem of the organisation is the lack of coordination between the Provincial Islamic Committee of Bangkok and Committee of Masjids. It results in the Committee of Masjids unable to follow the policies set by the Provincial Islamic Committee of Bangkok and consequently the Muslim communities in Bangkok do not fully benefit from the committee’s services.