การสร้างอิทธิพลทางสังคม: กรณีศึกษาเจ้าพ่อรายหนึ่ง

Abstract

The study “Building Social Influence: The Case Study of a Godfather,” was aimed at exploring the background, behavior, attitudes, and lifestyle of an influential person; explaining how to build local social influence; and discussing the supporting factors in the expansion of power networks into national politics. This study was based on narrative research, which provided a biography of this individual, who was the ‘subject’ of this study. His story showed that because he was brought up in a family of influential people, who included his grandfather and father, and the fact that he was a ‘serious’ person, all made him choose to lead his life based on his own experiences rather than classroom education. This resulted in him describing himself as a ‘local hoodlum,’ and this created a wide public perception and recognition that he was a ‘local influential person.’ His sincerity and generosity allowed him to have a lot of friends and followers and gained the trust of national authorities. Thus, he was able to establish his power networks, and this paved the foundation of his local and national political career. Throughout his working life as a ‘politician,’ he witnessed and learned about the political path from various people. He positioned himself into the role of a ‘representative’ of the people in his province, rather than as a representative of the national administration. His only intention was to provide his local people assistance and care, like ‘a local safeguard,’ which was a role he played for many years. Despite his image and the name ‘godfather’ given to him by the mass media, his generosity and simple lifestyle that was not different from that of other local people, he became an ‘influential person,’ someone who was easy to access and a ‘refuge’ for the local people. Despite his diminishing official role and authority over time, social and political changes, and elderly age, the expressions of local authorities showing their respect for him and the fact that local people approached him to ask for help showed his ‘charisma,’ which developed from his identity over the past decades. This was reflected through the fact that local people still respected him and regarded him as a ‘refuge,’ the same as they did in the past when he held a position that provided him with full power and influence.