Perspectives of Politicians and Government Officials on the Peacebuilding Process in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces: Qualitative Interviews from the Peace Survey

Abstract

The Peace Survey, conducted continually since 2016 and reaching its seventh round in 2023, has served as a crucial mechanism for reflecting public perspectives on the peace process in Thailand’s southern border provinces. This article examines the perspectives of politicians and government officials—critical actors in shaping the direction of peace—through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 12 key informants. These qualitative findings complement the quantitative data obtained from the Seventh Peace Survey.

The findings highlight five key themes: 1) perspectives on the peace dialogue process varied among informants, ranging from viewing it as a positive development and a necessary international mechanism to opposing it due to concerns about foreign intervention. Despite its limitations and the absence of clear effectiveness, most respondents believed that the process could help ease tensions to some extent. 2) regarding public participation, informants emphasized the need for broader inclusion across all sectors, highlighting the importance of transparency, safe spaces for expression, and political mechanisms linked to local leaders who possess a genuine understanding of local issues. 3) political solutions, regarded as the core of peacebuilding, range from support for maintaining existing structures to proposals for decentralization or self-governance, as well as the formulation of a long-term development roadmap. All informants agreed on the need for more continuous and transparent negotiations to foster trust.4) government stance and measures reflected expectations for closer engagement with the public, reduced centralization of power, and the elevation of the southern conflict to the national agenda. Suggestions were also made to restructure the peace dialogue framework by reducing the dominance of the military and allowing greater participation by peace experts. 5) key challenges to peace were identified, including mutual distrust between conflicting parties, the fragility and discontinuity of dialogue linked to national political dynamics, and state power structures that remain predominantly security-oriented.