Democratization and National Integration: Malay Muslim Community in Southern Thailand

Abstract

The present People’s Constitution of Thailand has moved the nation, to a certain degree, towards decentralization and self-government. Did this process of democratization help the process of national integration? It is argued that the participation of Malay Muslims of Southern Thailand in the Thai political system, nationally and locally, which leads to their gradual integration, has been partly due to the democratization process. In this case, democratization does not actually hinder the Thai government’s integration efforts; it facilitates the process of national integration.