Although there has been no evidence that suggests the involvement of global terrorist networks, the crisis in the south has become a serious threat to the legitimacy of the government and more importantly to the security of the residents in the areas. This is not only a political issue, but also an intricate sociological one. The Thai state has been built on the myth of homogeneity whereby different cultures or customs are often regarded as alien, or “un-Thai”. Such a mentality has prompted the security forces to implement their hard-nosed measures, since they believe that they are dealing with threatening alien, foreign elements. For the same reason, the Thai state has refused to grant any kind of administrative autonomy to the three provinces for fear that this could lead to national disintegration.