Journal of Political Science and Legal Studies

The role of mass media in the digital age and political transparency in Thailand.

2026-02-19T14:54:28+07:00

This academic article aims to critically examine the role of digital-era journalism in promoting political transparency in the context of Thailand. While digital technologies have enabled broader dissemination of information and expanded the media's capacity to monitor state power, structural constraints—including political authority, economic interests, and cultural norms—continue to delimit the boundaries of communicative freedom. The article begins by exploring key theoretical frameworks, such as media as a watchdog, democratic transparency, and the dynamics of digital communication power. It then analyzes the landscape of digital media in Thailand through case studies such as the coverage of parliamentary no-confidence debates and human rights issues in the Bang Kloy indigenous community. Special attention is given to the roles of independent media, citizen journalists, and online platforms that have significantly altered the modalities of political communication. However, this article also highlights critical limitations of digital media, including the proliferation of disinformation, platform monopolization, state-led content control, and the absence of professional standards among some media producers. Comparative cases from Taiwan and South Korea are presented to extract policy lessons that emphasize the importance of institutional safeguards, civic education, and participatory governance. Ultimately, the article argues that realizing the democratic potential of digital media in Thailand requires systemic reform—particularly legal protection for press freedom, comprehensive media literacy programs, and mechanisms that ensure government disclosure translates into meaningful civic engagement. Without these foundational supports, digital transparency risks becoming a performative gesture rather than a transformative force within Thailand’s semi-democratic regime.

Life in the Shadow of the Border: Experiences of Border Communities in the Thai-Cambodian Conflict

2026-01-08T10:09:33+07:00

This article examines the lived experiences of border communities in the context of the Thai–Cambodian conflict through a descriptive and interpretive approach informed by Borderland Studies, human security, and human dignity. It argues that border conflicts are not merely matters of international law or interstate politics, but ongoing power processes that profoundly shape the everyday lives of people living at the margins of the nation-state. The article begins by tracing the colonial origins of border demarcation and the Preah Vihear case, highlighting how maps, legal regimes, and discourses of sovereignty have transformed historically fluid spaces into sites of protracted conflict.The analysis of border communities reveals social and cultural structures grounded in overlapping identities, multilingual practices, and cross-border kinship networks that challenge rigid notions of national belonging. State-centered security measures and militarization have generated persistent uncertainty in everyday life, affecting mobility, education, religious spaces, and border economies. In particular, border closures and security controls have intensified economic vulnerability by disrupting informal trade and livelihood strategies that sustain local households. The article also examines how nationalist discourses, mobilized within domestic politics, reinforce “us–them” divisions and undermine long-standing cross-border social relations. At the same time, the article demonstrates that border communities are not passive victims of conflict. Rather, they possess significant capacity to foster bottom-up peace through everyday coexistence, informal cooperation, and locally grounded mechanisms for managing tension. These practices constitute a form of “everyday peace” that persists despite political uncertainty. Drawing lessons from the Thai–Cambodian border, the article highlights the limitations of state-centric security policies and underscores the need for border governance that prioritizes human security, community participation, and human dignity. Such an approach is essential for building sustainable peace that emerges from the lived realities of border communities, rather than being imposed solely through top-down political and military frameworks.

Utilitarian Philosophical Discourse: Examining the Political, Legal, and Pancasila Justice Relations in Indonesia

2026-03-03T11:01:47+07:00

This study seeks to analyze utilitarianism in Indonesian politics by identifying the principles of Pancasila legal justice and utilitarian justice. Using qualitative descriptions with this type of literature study. Primary data contains journals and books related to research topics, namely the philosophy of utilitarianism, legal politics, justice, and Pancasila law, while secondary data contains supporting literature. Data will be understood, recorded, and analyzed using the philosophy of utilitarianism. So that conclusions can be drawn. The results of the study stated that public participation in influencing public policies in 2022 decreased from 76.1% to 70.6%. This creates a problem where the aspirations of the community are not properly accommodated, so that the output of legal politics in the formation of laws or regional regulations does not contain the principle of justice for the wider community. This tends to be positivistic and contradicts the formulation of the Law, which must use academic texts that contain philosophical, sociological, and normative aspects. Thus, eliminating the principle of legal expediency by emphasizing the principle of legal certainty. In actualizing the principle of utilitarianism in the Pancasila legal state, which tends to use the doctrine of positivism, the collective participation of the government, law enforcement, and the community is carried out to form rules and implement these rules to create benefits for the wider community; it is a major form of the principle of justice. The principle of utilitarianism is “The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number”. Thus, the majority vote is a representation of the principle of justice. The author feels that this study is not completely perfect and needs refinement from other researchers. The recommendation suggested by the researcher is to be more specific in conducting research on related topics about laws that use purely utilitarian aspects.

Developing a democratic system in a multicultural society: A case study of the southern border provinces of Thailand

2026-04-13T08:52:59+07:00

This article aims to study the development of democratic systems within the context of multicultural societies, using the case study of Thailand’s southern border provinces—areas characterized by significant ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. The majority population consists of Malay-Muslims with cultural identities and historical backgrounds distinct from the central Thai state. This study analyzes the patterns of political participation among ethnic and religious groups in the region, examines state policies and mechanisms that promote multicultural democracy, and identifies structural obstacles hindering democratic development in these areas.

The findings reveal that although legal frameworks and local administrative organizations are designed to encourage political participation, in practice, these mechanisms are often limited by centralized power structures and policies that fail to accommodate the region’s cultural diversity. Additionally, distrust between the state and local communities, alongside cultural and social barriers, leads many residents to feel alienated and demotivated to participate politically. Nonetheless, grassroots democratic movements remain important examples of genuine political engagement, despite challenges related to security and state recognition. Comparative studies of border areas in Malaysia and Aceh indicate that recognizing identities through decentralization and integrating local laws can effectively strengthen democracy in multicultural settings. The article proposes structural reforms that emphasize empowering and increasing the autonomy of local governing bodies, promoting citizen participation, and establishing mechanisms aligned with local cultural contexts to foster meaningful and sustainable democracy in Thailand’s southern border provinces.