A Study On The Influence Of 'Red Shirt' Movement On Democratization In Thailand

Thailand is the country enter into democratization very early in Asia.However,it has been finding a suitable path for democratic development for a long time.Even in recent years,it has been stuck in a democratic dilemma.The ‘Red Shirt' movement in Thailand had occurred with the regime changed.The ‘Red Shirt' movement was a typical social movement,which inevitably had an impact on the process of Thailand's democratization.Charles Tilly had put up the Contentious Politics for expanding the concept of Social Movement.While his theory had focused on the relationship between social movement and democratization.Based on Charles Tilly's theory,this dissertation first knows the three processes including mobilization,identification and transformation of the ‘Red Shirt' movement.Then the dissertation analyzes the mechanism changes of each process.At last it can be known that the influence of the ‘Red Shirt' movement on Thailand's democratization did not achieve the desired effect.Therefore the influence is limited.The ‘Red Shirt' movement has both positive and negative effects on the democratization process of Thailand.On the one hand,the ‘Red Shirt' safeguard the democratic development and awaken the consciousness of democracy.On the another hand,the ‘Red Shirt' movement foster a divide in the perception of democracy and accelerate the fragmentation of the social fabric.There is no doubt about the impact of social movements on the democratization.But the complexity of social movements cannot be ignored completely.Through analyzing the influence of the ‘Red Shirt' movement on the democratization in Thailand,this dissertation attempts to further explore the relationship between social movement and political democratization.