Abstract
The book presents an on-going narrative of socio-political power struggles in Bangkok through an exploration of urban–rural divide and its complexities with status, space and social life. Drawing from an ethnographic approach, the author explores connections between inequality, space and social life in Bangkok and argues that the notion of urban–rural divide obscures a far more complex reality of linkages, within both the urban and the national systems of status and class. While the structural disparities reinforce the urban–rural differences, the global market forces have further intensified the existing identity and status differences involving concepts of urban dominance and progress as opposed to rural marginalization and backwardness. The book reconnoitres the incendiary socio-political dynamic coupled with the existing everyday power struggle in Bangkok to unravel the varied ways in which Thais interpret and practice inequality, hierarchy and social divisions.
The Existing Inequalities of the Urban–Rural Divide
The author has argued in the book that Bangkok has created a life and progressed towards development despite the politically charged differences, mass demonstrations and existing divide. The divide between the urban middle class residing in Bangkok and the urban–rural working class that evolved from the impoverished north-eastern provinces of Isan, reflected the urban–rural divide. This divide engraved the differences in terms of inequality, politics, tradition, modernity, region and identity. The author highlights the contrast that exists in everyday life amidst the urban–rural divide. The working class people, mostly migrated from rural areas, are discriminated outside their duties. They are unwelcomed inside the posh places catering to upper middle class such as shopping malls, office spaces, hypermarkets etc., despite them being an integral part of the existence and functioning of such places. A large portion of the crowd that is discriminated in everyday life and projected as ‘uneducated, ignorant and backward’ seek to advocate through a political voice for their rights and security for themselves and for their family’s future.
The discrimination prevalent in the city also leads to people adopting corrupt methods, forced to pay money and resort to unethical ways of getting themselves a position or status in the society which otherwise they cannot in normal course. This is explained by author as ‘resorting to unofficial transaction to expedite procedures to get something important done’. The struggle of finding their way through the existing socio-political scenario is not limited to only middle class but extends to even the protestors as they all share similar struggle to transform limited economic resources and social setups into opportunities, at the same time, face constant risk of failing or being pushed below the socio-economic ladder of the society. It is beneath these layers of existing political set-up, of marches, rallies and sieges, the author discourses the existence of subtle pressures that emerge from everyday struggles of life involving the socio-cultural societal norms and existing hierarchies.
Choice of the Study
As political developments unfolded in Bangkok, and rhetoric of a class-war and urban–rural divide became highly noticeable, there were middle class groups that became increasingly implicated in the current political turmoil. These included also the supporters of political groups and movements such as People’s Alliance for Democracy and People’s Democratic Reform Committee movement. Simultaneously, Bangkok’s central business and entertainment district with its concentration of upmarket malls were drawn into conflict between mass destruction and capitalist privilege. All these developments were imperative to address the challenges of urban Thai middle class culture and identity. The author extends her scope of study to beyond an account of everyday middle class practice in Bangkok and engages the politico-historical nuances that are transforming the city.
The middle class culture and identity in Bangkok is based on the elite status practices. Much of this revolves around the display of status and lifestyle practices that mostly take place in the urban space of shopping malls. These urban spaces represent the concrete manifestations of new modes of spatializing inequality that provides important insights to both old and new symbolic and material divisions in Thai society. The traditional concepts of space and hierarchy as encapsulated in theories of indigenous urbanism, Mandala and Galactic polity, emphasized the city as the dominant social, economic and political centre-superiority of city dwellers in relation to those coming from countryside. Earlier the dominant centres were in the form of temples, marketplace that formed the social centres around which social life revolved. In present times, these centres are replaced by shopping malls as the most important social hub. Moreover, with these transformations, the inequalities created due to neoliberal capitalism, were mapped onto pre-existing contours of social differentiation to create multitude of divisions larger than the urban–rural divide.
The author has formulated her own understanding of the distinctions of urban–rural divide based on the works of several researchers such as Anek Loathamatas, Conners and Hewison. Their work around the conceptions of democracy within the rural working and urban middle classes and the complexities of class structures, regional business ideological networks, intra-elite conflict and ongoing grass-root struggles have been examined and form the theoretical basis of the study. The author based on her analysis argues the urban–rural divide to be an explicitly ‘hierarchical relation’ rather than a ‘diametric opposition’.
The author aims to contribute towards the understanding of the political struggle by examining some of the bases for the deep social discontent giving political tensions. According to the author, indigenous understanding of urban–rural class divide is substantial in everyday life, and largely contributes to the political conflict. The political unrest is created by the intense struggle over opportunities, divisions of urban space that magnify class tensions and entrenched culture of patronage and abuse of power. One of the main challenges explored in the book by the author is the skewed perspective of urban–rural divide analysis, which is generally devoid of the difficulties faced by the comfortable urban middle class Thais in Bangkok.
The author begins by establishing her approach to analyzing the social differentiation in Thailand, by first outlining the historical ‘Sakdina’ system to then describing its contemporary nuances. The author also highlights the characteristics of the middle class Thais and the factors that contribute to its complicated identity. The author in the following chapter develops a theoretical framework. It lays the groundwork for the consequent chapters that explores the changing social relations and status display practices in everyday life in Bangkok. The narratives of two city centres—Rattanakosin and Siam-Ratchaprasong—are used to explore the same. The author in next few chapters through the case studies reveals how the intense contemporary emphasis on wealth as an indicator of power is expressed in a the everyday activities and preoccupation with status display, face, prestige and reputation in Bangkok. Moreover, the author explores the nature of interclass relations and biased attitudes towards lower class and rural Thais. The author also elaborates how the emphasis on ‘face, reputation, prestige and material wealth translates into access to the networks and social circles that lead to opportunities for success, upward mobility and economic and political power’. The author concludes by suggesting that the striking discourse of middle-class resentment, along with the discontent of the marginalized rural and working class segments of Thai society, has been instrumental to mobilizing popular support and legitimacy in the political turmoil.
The author has effectively enunciated the findings of socio-political power struggles in Bangkok, however, faces challenge in addressing the heterogeneity of the Thai population used for this analysis. The sample groups such as ‘middle class’, ‘upper elite’ and ‘rural working class’ are encompassed by vast diversity and varied backgrounds, and are often used or generalized as homogenous groups in the study. Moreover, since the research is also based on primary surveys and interviews, there is possibility of sample not being representative of the diversity and observations biased. Even though the author suggests few immediate measures towards establishing a genuine foundation such as engaging in public debates issues of monetary bribes, the exploitation of connections, inequality in practice and unfairness, the book lacks in envisioning the path for the same. A comprehensive framework with recommended methodologies or approach defined for the intensive and fascinating analysis carried out by the author would have enriched the book further and contributed largely to the study of power relations in cities. The book, however, is an essential read for researchers and students working on space and politics, consumption and identity and social inequality.