不成熟的“市民社会”——当代泰国政治发展的一个研究视角

Immature "Civil Society"——A Research Perspective of Political Development in Thailand

很多对市场经济发展的政治后果抱有乐观态度的学者认为,随着泰国近几十年的经济发展,该国市民社会已经崛起,从而能够大大推进民主化进程和政治发展。但本文通过对泰国主要社会阶层政治参与和政治亚文化的分析,发现该国政治文化与尊崇民主政治的西方公民文化有着本质的差异。泰国主要社会阶层很少有强烈的民主和社会责任感。此外,人们也普遍缺乏法律意识。本研究表明,"市民社会"是基于古希腊以来西方社会平等、民主的政治关系提炼出来的概念,难以准确地反映泰国的现实社会和政治发展情形。因此,虽然泰国政治自上个世纪九十年代早期市民流血抗争以后有了很大的发展,但这并不意味着西方意义上市民社会的崛起;泰国的民主政治仍然缺乏坚实的基础。

Many researchers who have optimistic view on the consequences of market-oriented economic development and believe that the economic development in the past decades in Thailand have resulted in the rise of civil society,which would proceed democratization and political development.However,the analysis on political participation and political subculture of main social classes shows that the political culture of Thai is essentially different from the Western civility which highly praises democracy;and social classes in Thailand have little commitment to the ideology of democracy and law.Therefore,since the concept of ＂civil society＂ indicates the political ideology of equity and democracy in the Western society which have been formed since the ancient Greece period,it can hardly reflect the reality of Thailand＇s society and politic development correctly.Although Thailand politics has experienced quite a great development due to the violent resistance of citizens,it does not lead to the rise of civil society of the Western sense,and there is still a lack of solid social foundation for complete democratization.