Empowering Community Resilience and the "Public Sphere" Mechanism at the Provincial Level: Thailand’s Leverage Point

Abstract

The “public sphere” or “public space” is an inclusive platform that provides opportunities for individuals in society to express themselves as “citizens” and to engage in public life, allowing them to present their demands to the state. Communities, community organizations, and civil societies that have effectively addressed issues have established a “public sphere” to manage conflicts in resource allocation, developmental inequality, and other challenging issues. Therefore, the “public sphere” functions as both a tool and a mechanism for effective community self-management, which can be categorized into two aspects: (a) strong communities with self-management practices on various issues, and (b) strong communities with provincial-level integration.

Building strong communities and a “public sphere” at the provincial level is crucial for mitigating inequality within the Thai social structure, particularly within the government sector, including central, regional, local, and community government agencies. The most crucial aspect of rebalancing power relations involves adopting deliberative democracy as a tool to foster community participation and empower communities to influence the direction of development in their respective areas. It is essential to further develop the Rules of the Office of the Prime Minister for Promoting Strong Communities (year…) to serve as a guiding framework for communities and provinces in constructing the “public sphere” in their areas in the future.