Political Violence in the Muslim Provinces of Southern Thailand

The paper attempts to examine the causes and manifestations of, as well as the governmental response to, the political unrest in the Muslim provinces of Southern Thailand. The Thai government is argued to have been slow in perceiving the seriousness of the problem and that the success of governmental response would depend on if the government enforces the 'right mix' of force with other measures - for instance if the economic development programes will be well planned, adequately funded and properly administered, and whether government agencies do indeed accommodate the special Muslim requirements.