This article has examined problems pertaining to the bureaucratic
structure as well as the bureaucrat as an agent in Thailand’s far
south. The first section illustrated how attempts to reform the
bureaucratic structure have mostly been aimed at either expanding
or reducing military influence in policy-making and control of public
administration in the region, with the focus more on balancing existing
powers rather than redistributing or sharing of power with groups
outside the central government. Only until recently has the discourse
become more open to accepting new entities and to acknowledging
the power of other groups. This corresponds to the call from local
intellectuals for genuine autonomy which will inevitably lead to
the issue of new political arrangements that will redefine the far
south’s relationship with the central government.