Across Nations, Dignity, and Democracy: Discourses of Power, Resistance, and the Future of Contemporary Thai Politics

Abstract

This article examines the power relations among nation, human dignity, and democracy in contemporary Thai politics, emphasizing political discourse as a central mechanism through which state legitimacy is constructed, citizenship is hierarchized, and the boundaries of political legitimacy are defined. In the post-coup context and under conditions of incomplete democratization, discourses of nation and dignity are deployed in both protective and exclusionary ways—most notably through the distinction between “loyal citizens” and “dissenters”—with significant implications for political freedom and civic equality. Employing Critical Discourse Analysis alongside the concepts of power/knowledge, hegemony, and the politics of meaning, the article analyzes how discourses of nation and human dignity are produced, mobilized, and contested across political institutions, media, education, and law. The analysis demonstrates that the nation is not merely a cultural identity but a politically constructed concept closely tied to security, morality, and the normalization of unaccountable state power. At the same time, human dignity is interpreted selectively, functioning alternately as a tool of control or a resource for emancipation, depending on actors’ positions within power structures.

The findings indicate that such discursive practices undermine institutional democracy, legitimize unequal exercises of power, and intensify social polarization through a politics of enmity. Nevertheless, the article highlights the persistence of counter-discourses advanced by civil society, social movements, and critical intellectuals that seek to rearticulate nationhood and dignity in human-centered and democratic terms. These discursive struggles suggest that Thailand’s political future is not predetermined by dominant power alone, but remains open to renegotiation through inclusive, rights-based, and participatory democratic imaginaries.