for sustainable social change should be culturally sensitive. Participatory commu-
nication and advocacy for sustainable development and the evaluation thereof needs
participants who possess what Payutto (1998) calls evolvability (see Chap. 6 ) and
who are interculturally competent.
I was compelled to write this book as a Thai citizen who is concerned about the
development of Thailand. Although I spent the last thirty years of my life abroad,
Thailand has always been my research interest. So it has for the other contributors
to this book.
This book is a compilation of research papers on contemporary Thai issues:
crisis in Thai Buddhism, culture, gender violence, tourism, human trafficking,
environmental and ecological issues, sustainability and the sufficiency economy,
the (mis)handling of elephants, etc.
All four authors have a great interest in Thailand and the development directions
it takes. The four authors are specialized and—as we believe in lifelong learning—
are specializing in Sociology, Communication for Sustainable Social Change,
International Education and Development, and Anthropology and Philosophy
respectively.
This book is written from a sociological and anthropological perspective with a
dash of communication for sustainable social change. It is comprised of nine
chapters which are related and relevant to one another:
Chapter 1 is an explanation of the Thai Buddhist culture from a historical and
globalization perspective. Hybridization of Thai Buddhist culture: worldviews or
belief systems, values, and representations that reflect Thai patriarchy and nation-
alism are explicated by Patchanee Malikhao. How Thai Buddhism has become
commercialized is explained. How Thai mass media and new media have spurred
animism and astrology are further illuminated.
Chapter 2 is the result of online research on the controversial Dhammakaya
issue, reported by Patchanee. The Dhammakaya case is a good example of
hybridization of the Thai Buddhist culture as a result of the politico-economic
influences in the contemporary globalization period. This Chapter is related to the
framework of globalization presented in Chap. 1.
Chapter 3 is an assessment of violence towards gender in Thailand from a
historical and globalization perspective. This chapter is related to the framework of
patriarchy, as presented in Chap. 1. Patchanee would like to draw attention of the
reader to sex education as a way to address the problem.
Chapter 4 is an analytical appreciation of Thai culture. Jan Servaes considers
Thai culture in essence still a village culture despite of its urbanization and glob-
alization. More importantly, how Thais communicate in relation with power and
hierarchy, and how they are influenced by the consumption and production of the
media and mass media are being analyzed.
Chapter 5 concerns international relations between Thailand and the People’s
Republic of China, as Chinese tourists have become the main bread and butter
of the tourism industry in Thailand. Tourism and sustainable development is a big
issue. Whether Thailand can maintain eco-tourism and conserve its own culture is
being discussed by Patchanee.
Introduction xxiii