Advocacy NGOs, advocacy strategies and new participatory spaces : the case on Thai advocacy NGOs and the Xayaburi Dam Project

Banjongprasert, Achara

Abstract

Since 2006, plans for eleven hydropower dams on the Lower Mekong River’s mainstream have been revived. The expansion of mainstream dams on the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) has posed new challenges on Thai advocacy NGOs. Thai advocacy NGOs have long experiences in anti-dam movement since 1980s. Their focus is on the opposition of the hydropower dam constructed in Thailand; rather than on mainstream dams built in the LMB countries which are outside Thailand border. Currently, the Xayaburi dam project, the first dam of eleven mainstream dams proposed for the LMB, has been built in Laos. The Xayaburi dam project becomes the new test for Thai advocacy NGOs who have increasingly played active roles in the dam opposition within the new context of expansion of mainstream dams on the LMB. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine advocacy strategies used by Thai advocacy NGOs to create new opportunities for Thai dam-affected villagers to participate in the decision-making process of the Xayaburi dam project. The study also intends to understand the effects of advocacy strategies used by Thai advocacy NGOs to create new opportunities for the participation of Thai dam-affected villagers in the decision-making process of the Xayaburi dam project.
The research findings indicate that Thai advocacy NGOs use both insider and outsider strategies, albeit in different degrees, to create new opportunities for the participation of Thai dam-affected villagers in the decision-making process of the Xayaburi dam project. By using both insider and outsider strategies, the new opportunities for participation are opened up in which they lead to the creation of new participatory spaces. The spaces can be divided as new invited spaces and new popular spaces. Thai advocacy NGOs can use advocacy strategies to overcome the unequal power relations and create new participatory spaces for participation Therefore, this thesis argues that Thai advocacy NGOs have potentials to be advocates for public participation even though they have to operate their work within the constraining context of unequal power relations. This study aims to advance the study of advocacy NGOs and public participation. The research findings can improve the potentials of Thai advocacy NGOs as advocates for public participation within the new context of the rapid expansion of hydropower dam development in the LMB.

Citation

Banjongprasert, A. (2017). Advocacy NGOs, advocacy strategies and new participatory spaces : the case on Thai advocacy NGOs and the Xayaburi Dam Project. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4224595

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Keywords: Politics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4224595
• Additional Information: School of Law and Politics, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Oct 1, 2017