In search of 'cosmopolitanism' in Thai civil soceity

Burmese refugees have lived in camps, often for decades, being forced to depend on external aid, with restricted freedom of movement and limited livelihood that cause psychosocial effects, chronic family and community conflicts, while resettlement to the third country as the durable solution had not been permitted until very recently.

In spite of its debatable capacity to be more generous country of asylum, endured protection gaps and protracted refugees situation in Thailand concerned by humanitarian aid agencies worldwide demonstrates dilemma in the country’s ambition to play active role in international community.

Despite that the state has maintained strict policy of ‘temporary assistance’ to Burmese refugees and denial of rights to local integration, there prevails refugee support sentiment from the Thai civil society in their course of promoting social justice and good governance.

From this point I plan to examine existing discourse within the Thai civil society regarding Burmese refugees, political conflicts in Burma and concerning public policy. My preliminary question is that ‘whether there are adequate shared ideas, what kind of the shared ideas and how the shared ideas were constructed within the civil society, as in articulating support for their agenda of refugee hospitality?’

Considering that academic discourse can play an important role in norm making or introducing new ideas to the society for positive social change, my research is aimed to understand the evolution of the existing ideas and trends of social discourse to be adopted by the Thai civil society in engagement with the state regarding refugee issue, and how it will shape the country’s response to refugee problems.