The Deep South of Thailand: 15 Years in Fields of Open Conflict, Violence and Peace Narratives

Abstract

Violent conflict in the Deep South of Thailand has persisted for over 13 years. The longer the conflict has lasted, the more complicated, varied and systematic it has become. All these variations indicate that violence in the Deep South has been driven mainly by intrinsic factors and their ongoing dynamic, which has become entrenched into a raging “system of violence.” This article proceeds step by step by first examining literature and second summarizing recent data between 2004 and 2017 from the recent study of the Deep South Incident Database (DSID). Then, the patterns of violent and peace dynamics will be analyzed and deduced based upon this empirical data. The next step will be the syntheses of related constructs and concepts that indicate rivalry between different ideas behind variations of the situation. Lastly, some critical remarks and observations about approaches to cope with the conflict as well as bringing about a sustainable peace process in the future will be presented. Based on empirical data available, this chapter attempts to define the system of violence in Thailand’s Deep South, forged as it is by different social and discursive processes.