泰國的國家認同

National Identity Issues of Thailand

談起泰國，其觀光形象鮮明，傳統服裝加上濃濃的佛教色彩，以及深具特色的泰式料理，當然還有以變性人為主題的娛樂業與服務業，展現泰國多元的文化內涵，都是令人印象深刻的國家形象。本文重點在於探索泰國國家認同的要素，特別是從王室、軍方、與民主體制發展的面向，檢視泰國人如何建構民族主義，以及自我建構文化與國家發展的關連。泰國王室是泰國人宗教、精神生活、與日常生活的主要引導，甚至是俗世政治鬥爭的仲裁與參與者。泰國軍方也是國家發展的主要角色，不但介入政治鬥爭，更是經常發動政變接管國家機器，民主化浪潮下，泰國人似乎也在發展具有自己特色的「泰式民主」，軍事政變顯然是泰國在政治發展上的一個鮮明標的，泰國有著文人政權與軍事政權不斷交替的惡性循環，因此有人形容這是泰國民主發展的雙城記。外人對泰國政變的評價大多傾向負面看待，但是泰國人在追求現代化與民主化的過程，非常堅持自身的傳統文化，特別是在宗教和王室的價值與傳統光榮。這些融合宗教、政治體制和文化傳統的動力構成泰國原生與建構的國家認同要素。

"Thailand is famous for and proud of the plentiful natural sceneries, dedicated Buddhism culture, and delicious authentic cuisines. The open tolerating and multicultural life style also define the national character of Thailand. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the elements of national identity of Thailand. The major observed aspects lie in the King, the Buddhism, the so-called Thai Style Democracy (TSD), and the separatist movements in the Southern Muslim regions. The King is not only the spiritual leader of Thailand, he also plays active role in secular affairs, especially in arbitrating the national conflicts between the military and the civilian government. The coup is a product of Thai democracy which trapped in a vicious cycle, in which the corrupting governments invited the military coup then amending the Constitution and holding elections to retain the democratic form. Nonetheless, the newly formed governments might step into the corruption mode again the initiate the cycle. This very Thai style democracy is mixed with Buddhism, Royal influences, and long-lasting life experiences, which constitutes essences of Thai national identity."