TY - JOUR
T1 - Participatory local governance and cultural practices in Thailand
AU - Buchenrieder, Gertrud
AU - Dufhues, Thomas
AU - Theesfeld, Insa
AU - Nuchanata, Mungkung
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © 2017 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - How do cultural practices influence the process of participatory governance within local administrative structures? We address this question by reflecting cultural dimensions, such as collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance within a contextual sensitive “cultural sensemaking” model. The modelled context refers to community development meetings held in Thai communities. Here people gather to discuss development plans, which are later finalized at the Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO). We hypothesize that cultural practices influence action by giving the people the rules for action. The analysis of culture in the context of these meetings is an interpretive one and involves qualitative observation of and structured interviews. Our results show that the prevailing cultural practices do not promote truly transparent and open discussions as ascribed to participatory governance tools. Consequently, local leaders employ a subtle paternalistic leadership style. Yet, cultural practices change towards a more open and participatory rural society.
AB - How do cultural practices influence the process of participatory governance within local administrative structures? We address this question by reflecting cultural dimensions, such as collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance within a contextual sensitive “cultural sensemaking” model. The modelled context refers to community development meetings held in Thai communities. Here people gather to discuss development plans, which are later finalized at the Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO). We hypothesize that cultural practices influence action by giving the people the rules for action. The analysis of culture in the context of these meetings is an interpretive one and involves qualitative observation of and structured interviews. Our results show that the prevailing cultural practices do not promote truly transparent and open discussions as ascribed to participatory governance tools. Consequently, local leaders employ a subtle paternalistic leadership style. Yet, cultural practices change towards a more open and participatory rural society.
KW - Thailand
KW - cultural practices
KW - governance
KW - local government
KW - participatory decision-making
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051432105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/23311886.2017.1338331
DO - 10.1080/23311886.2017.1338331
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85051432105
SN - 2331-1886
VL - 3
JO - Cogent Social Sciences
JF - Cogent Social Sciences
IS - 1
M1 - 1338331
ER -