Determinants of political participation in Thailand: An analysis of survey data (2002–2014)

Abstract

This article aims to explain changes in the patterns of political participation in Thailand between 2002 and 2014. Relying on four waves of survey data taken from the Asian Barometer (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014), it proposes an analytical framework composed of several factors that include not only socioeconomic status (SES) but also various psychological, attitudinal, and mobilization factors to test and seek for factors that affect a likelihood of being a passive or active political participant. This article shows that apart from some SES, there are various factors, such as political interest and self-efficacy, party attachment, and group membership that affected the participatory actions of Thai citizens during this period. Moreover, because group membership is only one factor having a significant impact on political participation for all the four waves of survey data, this article found that political participation of Thai citizens is largely a result of their learning and experiences obtained from the interaction within their respective groups. © 2022 Policy Studies Organization