Paper short abstract:

This paper looks at social organisation and networks of people in Southern Thailand and their conceptualisation of community.

Paper long abstract:

In contemporary Thailand, the concept of community is intensively discussed by local people as well as local intellectuals. While some scholars argued that the village community of intellectuals is only a mirage, local people use the concept of community (chumchon) as a basis for political organization against the perceived threat of the state and globalization from the "West" and the influence of the "North". This concept of community is loaded with emotion of local ethos, cohesion and solidarity, and religion. The paper looks at social organization and networks of people in Southern Thailand and on their conceptualization of community. A key question informing this paper is how far the community is a local concept or a concept that developed in reflexive dialogue with Europe. The paper thus will explore the ethos of the community in South Thailand and the use of it in the representation and in the discourse on self-sufficiency and environmentalism.