This research offers a full understanding of the extent of Civil Society participatory planning in Tambon within the context of a highly centralized state and dominance of local business people in public decision determination. In this ‘alternative’ mode of planning, various interests groups determine their local development plans collectively. Essentially, such planning aims to provide a political sphere of different groups of interests within the current pluralistic society. The research examines outcomes of the decentralization process regarding: civil societal ability for local development planning; the legal framework promoting citizen participation in local public decisions; attitudes of local politicians (who are essentially business people) towards participatory planning; and the contributions of local associations in municipal development, particularly the local planning system. The study finds that highly centralized state policy undermines the local planning system. Civil Society have insufficient necessities (authority, duties, and resources) for performing their local planning effectively. In the legal framework, the government aims to use citizen participation to obtain information from the grassroots, rather than collective public decision determination. All significant public decisions remain within representative forms (Civil Society executives and councils). In local politics, local business elites dominate Tambon Civil Society and manipulate citizen participation for their personal benefits. Such an imbalance of power among civil society reduces the ability of other interests to be involved in public decisions.
Although much participation is taking place in Civil Society practice, the local planning system fails to be a central political sphere for various interests to participate in local public decision. Some local groups who have high electoral vote power benefit from legal planning procedures; others use their tight connections to politicians to pursue their aims outside legal planning procedures; there are also those who neither have mass support, nor support of politicians and therefore stand little chance for pursuing their interests.
This research offers a full understanding of the extent of Civil Society participatory planning in Tambon within the context of a highly centralized state and dominance of local business people in public decision determination. In this ‘alternative’ mode of planning, various interests groups determine their local development plans collectively. Essentially, such planning aims to provide a political sphere of different groups of interests within the current pluralistic society. The research examines outcomes of the decentralization process regarding: civil societal ability for local development planning; the legal framework promoting citizen participation in local public decisions; attitudes of local politicians (who are essentially business people) towards participatory planning; and the contributions of local associations in municipal development, particularly the local planning system. The study finds that highly centralized state policy undermines the local planning system. Civil Society have insufficient necessities (authority, duties, and resources) for performing their local planning effectively. In the legal framework, the government aims to use citizen participation to obtain information from the grassroots, rather than collective public decision determination. All significant public decisions remain within representative forms (Civil Society executives and councils). In local politics, local business elites dominate Tambon Civil Society and manipulate citizen participation for their personal benefits. Such an imbalance of power among civil society reduces the ability of other interests to be involved in public decisions.
Although much participation is taking place in Civil Society practice, the local planning system fails to be a central political sphere for various interests to participate in local public decision. Some local groups who have high electoral vote power benefit from legal planning procedures; others use their tight connections to politicians to pursue their aims outside legal planning procedures; there are also those who neither have mass support, nor support of politicians and therefore stand little chance for pursuing their interests.
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