The design of public agencies in Thailand is composed of a complex web of function, area and agenda-based agencies, some of provincial and district administration, while some answer directly to local governments at the provincial or sub-district level. The function - area-agenda based model was introduced by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during 2001 - 04 as part of a major public administrative reform program me. The three southernmost provinces not only exhibit these complex structures but are also overlaid with special governing bodies and rules.
Since the upsurge of violence in 2004, various reports have made recommendations on how the insurgency can be extinguished. Many of these reports suggest that the government should work in a more "integrated" (buranakarn),
"unitary" (ekkapap) or "holistic" (ong ruam ) manner. These words are usually used interchangeably, and generally refer to attempts to centralize policies and implementation strategies so as to avoid overlap and contradictions. However, in reality, these attempts to "integrate" existing structures, generally reflect the struggle for power among key agencies such as the Ministry of Interior (Provincial Governor), the military (National Security Council or NSC, Fourth Army, The Royal Thai Army, Internal Security Operations Centre (SBPAC). However, attempts to "integrate" existing structures have primarily resulted in changes to the bureaucratic structure and power relationships between key agencies, rather than truly aligning the policies of various agencies to create a clear direction for tackling problems in the far south. These structural changes are described below.