Bangkok and the Floods of 2011: Urban Governance and the Struggle for Democratization

 

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Bangkok and the Floods of 2011: Urban Governance and the Struggle for Democratization,” in Michelle Ann Miller and Michael Douglass, eds., Disaster Governance in Asia (Springer, 2016), pp.195-209, available at: https://books.google.co.th/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=gLcvCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA194&dq=Walsh++%22Shinawatra+University%22&ots=ZgJUFSj-Tx&sig=9yt7sTvQhPc6scYRNE5eR2jMqrU&redir_esc=y.

Abstract:

The 2011 floods in Thailand took more than 700 lives and was one of the world’s three most severe economic disasters of that year. The incoming Pheu Thai administration, under PM Yingluck Shinawatra, faced its first significant emergency and was hamstrung by the limited ability of government to act. There was little coordination between government efforts and those of the opposition-controlled Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the army, which has long taken a role in disaster relief. Contentiously, provincial and peripheral areas were sacrificed to preserve central districts of Bangkok. Popular blame has fallen on the technocrat managers of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), which manages the dams, as well as other unaccountable agencies and institutions. This has lent popular support to Pheu Thai’s strategy of broadening and deepening the scope of the democratically-elected government vis-à-vis unaccountable and unelected agencies. Decentralisation of water policy projects is part of the plan to increase the numbers of legitimate political actors and the Committee for Water and Flood Management will advise the RID and require any decisions made to be transparent and accountable. Plans to introduce a Ministry of Water will see the disaster mitigation infrastructure overseen by government agencies. The city of Bangkok will be at the heart of this struggle, since many of the large infrastructure projects will be located there and, as a primate city, it would be unthinkable for many elements of society for it to be subject to what is considered to be outside control.

Issues in Implementing Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand

Announcing: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Issues in Implementing Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand,” Global Business and Economics Review, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp.417–429, DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2015.072497, available at: http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=72497.

Abstract: This research paper explores the issues surrounding the implementation of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) system in Thailand. The research is based on in depth, personal interviews with experts from 20 different institutions using semi-structured interview agendas and synthesised with secondary data. The principal problems involved with implementing IWRM result from political interference, the cross-scalar nature of contests for resources, the complexity of Thailand’s water sources and lack of awareness. The research took place in the aftermath of the disastrous 2011 floods and so the fierce urgency of disaster mitigation coloured the opinions of some respondents. The interaction between private and public sectors in Thailand involves the intersection between feudal and capitalist systems. To overcome blockages, it may be necessary to incorporate additional use of market mechanisms in water provision. The need for genuine public participation in this debate is noted. The paper approaches water resources from the management perspective rather than the more normal technical or engineering approach.

Keywords: Thailand; water management; integrated management; water resources management; IWRM; public participation; private sector; public sector; political interference; resource contests; complex water sources; lack of awareness; flooding; disaster mitigation.

Water Privatization during Rising Demand: The Case of Southern Thailand

Announcing: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Water Privatization during Rising Demand: The Case of Southern Thailand,” Pacific Business Review, Vol.6, No.9 (March, 2014), pp.15-20, available at; http://pbr.co.in/March2014/3.pdf.

Abstract:

Water privatization is an emotive subject and one that attracted a bad reputation owing to botched efforts in some western countries that have seen profits rise while services decline and apparently predatory privatization in South Africa and elsewhere that denied water to the poor. Water is widely considered to be a public good that should be available to people at a price as close to zero as possible. A powerful campaign to make access to water a human right has been launched and there is an evident contradiction between human rights and the market-based transactions seemingly required for water
treated as a commodity. Yet this contradiction must somehow be resolved because the demand for water is continuously increasing as the result of intensifying industrialization and urbanization and the huge increases in scale of the tourism industry. While demand is rapidly escalating, supply conditions
have become much less predictable as the result of the increasingly evident impacts of global climate change. Privatization can have a role in ameliorating these problems if it is properly planned and managed, if the scope of individual projects is limited to the scale issues endemic in management of water resources and, finally, if appropriate governance promotes objectives that are socially beneficial rather than depending entirely on the bottom line. This paper explores the ways in which water privatization has taken place in the south of Thailand from a comparative perspective and evaluates the limits of what can be achieved by these means and also investigates the contours of a successful privatization project.

Keywords:
Global Climate Change, Industrialization, Privatization, Thailand, Water

East Water Case Study

Announcing: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “East Water,” in G.D. Sardana, Managing World Class Operations (New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014), pp.248-56.

Abstract

Eastern Water Resources Development PCL or East Water is a government-controlled organization   that has been charged with managing water-supply services in a part of Thailand that is of considerable importance to state-level developmental strategy. East Water’s role has been carefully limited to those areas of water service privatization which are amenable to the introduction of private sector capital and its scope and geographical scale of actions have also been circumscribed. As a result, despite privatization being introduced as part of IMF conditionality following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, East Water has avoided the public criticism that has accompanied similar policies in other parts of the world.

Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand and Southeast Asia

The hard copy of our paper has now arrived: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand and Southeast Asia,” in Linda Brennan, Lukas Parker, Torgeir Aleti Watne, John Flen, Duong Trong Hue and Mai Anh Doan, eds., Growing Sustainable Communities: A Development Guide for Southeast Asia (Prahran, Victoria: Tilde University Press, 2013), pp.69-79.

Abstract

Water resource management in Thailand is characterized by competition for scarce resources between industry, the tourist sector and public citizens, in a country in which environmental degradation and erratic climatic patterns are making the controlled flow of water increasingly difficult. The overlapping interests of different government agencies were demonstrated during the 2011 flooding. To overcome this, a new water management approach is emerging which is fraught with pragmatic compromise and postponement or avoidance of power relations issues. This situation is relevant to other Southeast Asian nations both in terms of geographical and climatic pressures on water resources in rapidly industrializing and urbanizing states and also in terms of competing interests in conditions of constrained democracy.

Issues in Implementing Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand

 

Announcing: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Issues in Implementing Integrated Water Resources Management in Thailand,” Global Business and Economics Review, forthcoming, available at: http://www.inderscience.com/info/ingeneral/forthcoming.php?jcode=gber.

Abstract: Purpose (mandatory): this research paper explores the issues surrounding the implementation of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) system in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach (mandatory): the research is based on in depth, personal interviews with experts from 20 different institutions using semi-structured interview agendas and synthesized with secondary data. Findings (mandatory): the principal problems involved with implementing IWRM result from political interference, the cross-scalar nature of contests for resources, the complexity of Thailands water sources and lack of awareness. Research limitations/implications (if applicable): the research took place in the aftermath of the disastrous 2011 floods and so the fierce urgency of disaster mitigation coloured the opinions of some respondents. Practical implications (if applicable): the interaction between private and public sectors in Thailand involves the intersection between feudal and capitalist systems. To overcome blockages, it may be necessary to incorporate additional use of market mechanisms in water provision. Social implications (if applicable): the need for genuine public participation in this debate is noted. Originality/value (mandatory): the paper approaches water resources from the management perspective rather than the more normal technical or engineering approach.

Keywords: Thailand, water management, integrated water resources management, development, public participation, private and public sectors

This paper has been accepted and now appears on the website as a forthcoming paper – not sure whether it will see its way into print this year and might have to wait until 2015.

Academic Papers Published in 2013

It looks like the last of my 2013 academic papers has been published, so the full list as it stands is (in alphabetical order of authors):

Apivantanaporn, Thanan and John Walsh, “The Experience Economy in Thai Hotels and Resort Clusters: The Role of Authentic Food,” Acta Universitatus Danubius Oeconomica, Vol.9, No.3 (June, 2013), pp.140-52, available at: http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/oeconomica/article/view/1762/1606.

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Contemporary Water Management Issues in Thailand in Comparative Perspective,” Journal of Social and Development Sciences, Vol.4, No.5 (May, 2013), pp.218-28, available at: http://www.ifrnd.org/admin/jsds/55.pdf.

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Water Resource Allocation Issues in Thailand,” International Postgraduate Business Journal, Vol.5, No.1 (2013), pp.31-47, available at: http://www.oyagsb.uum.edu.my/images/IPBJ/list%20isue/2013_vol_5/artikal_jurnal_IPBJ_bab_2_1.pdf.

Ngamsang, Sirirat and John Walsh, “Confucius Institutes as Instruments of Soft Power: Comparison with International Rivals,” Journal of Educational and Vocational Research, Vol.4, No.10 (October, 2013), pp.302-10, available at: http://ifrnd.org/Research%20Papers/V4(10)4.pdf.

Putthithanasombat, Phramaha Min and John Walsh, “Management of Foreign Teachers in International Educational Institutes in Thailand,” Journal of Education and Vocational Research, Vol.4, No.8 (August, 2013), pp.230-7, available at: http://ifrnd.org/Research%20Papers/V4(8)3.pdf.

Southiseng, Nittana and John Walsh, “Human Resource Management in the Telecommunications Sector of Laos,” International Journal of Research Studies in Management, Vol.2, No.2 (2013), doi: 10.5861/ijrsm.2013.235, available at: http://www.consortiacademia.org/index.php/ijrsm/issue/current.

Sujarittanonta, Lavanchawee and John Walsh, “Game-Playing Culture in an Age of Capitalist Consumption: Young Taiwanese and Collectible Card Games,” Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, Vol.5, No.11 (November, 2013), pp.792-7, available at: http://ifrnd.org/Research%20Papers/J5(11)7.pdf.

Thakur, Reema and John Walsh, “Characteristics of Thai Women Entrepreneurs: A Case Study of SMEs Operating in Lampang Municipality Area,” Journal of Social and Development Studies, Vol.4, No.4 (April, 2013), pp.174-81, available at: http://ifrnd.org/admin/jsds/48.pdf.

Walsh, John and Fuengfa Amponsitra, “Infrastructure Development and the Repositioning of Power in Three Mekong Region Capital Cities,” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, early view, 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2013.01212.x, available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-2427/earlyview.

Walsh, John, “Environmental Changes in the Mekong Region and the Impact on Female Entrepreneurs,” Pacific Business Review: A Quarterly Journal of Management (February, 2013), available at: http://pbr.co.in/Vol%205%20Iss%208/3.pdf.

Walsh, John, “Fernando Enterprises: The Marketization of a Hobby,” South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, Vol.2, No.2 (December, 2013), pp.125-32.

Walsh, John, “Social Policy and Special Economic Zones in the Greater Mekong Subregion,” International Journal of Social Quality, Vol.3, No.1 (Summer, 2013), pp.44-56, http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/IJSQ.2013.030104. Abstract available at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/berghahn/ijsq/2013/00000003/00000001/art00004.

Walsh, John, “Thailand and the East Asian Economic Model,” Pacific Business Review: A Quarterly Journal of Management, Vol.5, No.10 (April, 2013), pp.81-8, available at: http://pbr.co.in/Vol%205%20Iss%2010/11.pdf.

Walsh, John, “The Role of Clinical Governance and in the Health Management Systems of Thailand,” Journal of Social and Development Sciences, Vol.4, No.10 (October, 2013), pp.461-6, available at: http://ifrnd.org/Research%20Papers/S4(10)3.pdf.

Yin, Lay Su and John Walsh, “Performance Assessment in the International Hotel Sector of Yangon, Myanmar,” Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, Vol.5, No.5 (May, 2013), pp.282-90, available at: http://www.ifrnd.org/admin/jebs/66.pdf.

2013’s International Conference Presentations, Part 2

International Conference Presentations, July-December, 2013:

Bouchetoux, François, Lily Lavanchawee Sujarittanonda and John Walsh, “Adapting Journey to the West for Cinema: Stephen Chow’s Hilarious Epopee,” paper presented at the International Conference on Literature to Cinema (NIT, Durgapur: July, 2013).

Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, Sirirat Ngamsang and John Walsh, “The Impact of Agricultural Input Change on Gendered Decision-Making in Rice-Farming Households in Thailand and Cambodia,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Conference on International Relations and Development (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 22nd-23rd, 2013).

Nittana Southiseng and John Walsh, “Uneven Development and SMEs in the CLMV Region,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Conference on International Relations and Development (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 22nd-23rd, 2013).

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Water Privatization during Rising Demand: The Case of Southern Thailand,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Conference on International Relations and Development (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 22nd-23rd, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Uneven Development and the Special Economic Zones of the Mekong Region,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Conference on International Relations and Development (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 22nd-23rd, 2013).

Walsh, John and Lavanchawee Sujarittanonta, “Connectivities of the Special Economic Zones of the Greater Mekong Subregion,” paper presented at the 2013 International Conference on Asia-Pacific Studies (November 7-9^th, 2013, National Sun Yat Sen University, Kaohsiung).

Walsh, John and Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, “From the Farm to the Marketplace: Rice-Farming and Livestock Management in Thailand and Cambodia,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Conference on Asian Food Culture (Zhejiang, China, October, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Overview of Korean Trade and Investment in the Mekong Region,” paper presented at the International Workshop on Korean Trade and Investment in the Mekong Region, Shinawatra University (November 1^st-2^nd, Bangkok, Thailand).

Putthithanasombat, Pramaha Min and John Walsh, “Management, Food Preparation and the Ethical Dimension at the Khao Kaewsadet Education Centre,” paper presented at the First International Conference of the Asia-Pacific Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics (APSAFE 2013) (Chulalongkorn University, November 28-30^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Kaesong Industrial Complex,” paper presented at the 7^th International Conference for Management Cases (Birla Institute for Management, Greater NOIDA: December 5^th-6^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Gender, Decision-Making and Livestock Management in a Sample of Farming Households in Cambodia,” paper presented at the 3^rd International Marketing Conference: Creating Sustainable Business through Innovative Marketing (Institute of Management Studies: Noida, December 6^th-7^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “A Model of Tourism Location Development: Evidence from Nan and Chiang Khan in Thailand,” paper presented at the 4^th International Conference on Education and International Management (Hydro Hotel: Penang, December 21^st-22^nd, 2013).

2013’s International Conference Presentations, Part 1

International Conference Presentations, January-June, 2013:

Walsh, John and Lavanchawee Sujarittanonta, “Business Strategies and Development of the Trading Card Games Industry,” paper presented at the Participatory and Popular Culture 2013 Winter Conference (Taipei: January 30^th-February 4^th, 2013). https://sites.google.com/site/ppc2013winter/schedule-1

Sujarittanonta, Lavanchawee, John Walsh and Stephen Cheng, “Gambling and Social Well-being in Asian Culture in the Eyes of Impressionable Youths,” paper presented at the Participatory and Popular Culture 2013 Winter Conference (Taipei: January 30th-February 4th, 2013). https://sites.google.com/site/ppc2013winter/schedule-1

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “The Allocation of Water Resources to Competing Interests: The Case of Thailand,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Sinthuyont, Warita and John Walsh, “Social Entrepreneurship, Environmentalism and Personal Commitment to Change,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Thakur, Reema and John Walsh, “Western, Buddhist and Hindu Women Entrepreneurs: What Are the Differences?” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Governance Systems of Special Economic Zones in the Greater Mekong Subregion,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “A Comparative Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility Systems of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital, Thailand,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Sujarittanonta, Lavanchawee and John Walsh, “Game-Playing Culture of Young Taiwanese in the Age of Capitalist Consumption,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Overview of Health Management in Thailand: The Role of Clinical Governance,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Putthithanasombat, Phramaha Min and John Walsh, “The Buddhist Perspective of International Labour Management: A Case Study of Laotian, Myanmar and Cambodian Labour in the Service Industry in Thailand,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Ngamsang, Sirirat and John Walsh, “Overseas Educational Institutions as Instruments of Soft Power: A Comparison of Chinese, British, French and German Approaches,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Nithisathian, Kittichok and John Walsh, “Purple Ocean Strategy Concept Paper: Content Analysis from Interviews and Literature Review,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Jha, Dilip Kumar and John Walsh, “Contribution of Livestock to Rural Households in a Nepalese Village,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Che Rusuli M.S., Tasmin R., Takala J. Norazlin H., K Phusavat and Walsh J., “Relationship between Knowledge Management Practices and Library Users’ Satisfaction: A Preliminary Result of Malaysian University Libraries,” paper presented at the 2013 TIIM Conference (March, 2013: Phuket).

Ngamsang, Sirirat and John Walsh, “Confucius Institutes in Thailand: Modes of Internationalization of Chinese Soft Power,” paper presented at the IGCBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, February 9^th-10^th, 2013).

Walsh, John and Wilaiporn Lao-Hakosol, “Industrial Estates and the Changing Economic Geography of Asia,” paper presented at the IGCBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, February 9^th-10^th, 2013).

Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “Dharma Teaching in a High-Tech Hospital Environment,” paper presented at the IGCBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, February 9^th-10^th, 2013).

Thakur, Reema and John Walsh, “Balancing Family Life and Personal Ambitions: Western, Buddhist and Hindu Female Entrepreneurs,” paper presented at the IGCBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, February 9^th-10^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Minimum Wage Systems in East Asia,” paper presented at the IGCBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, February 9^th-10^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Social Policy and Special Economic Zones in the Greater Mekong Subregion,” paper presented at the Asian Consortium for Social Policy Conference (Bangkok, May 2^nd-3^rd, 2013).

Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Water Allocation Issues in Thailand,” paper presented at the 2^nd EnvironmentAsia Conference (Pattaya: May 15^th-17^th, 2013).

Walsh, John, “Economic Policy under the Pheu Thai Government of Thailand, 2011-3,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 21-22^nd, 2013).

Thakur, Reema and John Walsh, “Space and Workplace Issues for Nepalese Female Entrepreneurs,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 21-22^nd, 2013).

Jha, Dilip Kumar and John Walsh, “Seasonal Labour Migration from a Rural Nepalese Village,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 21-22^nd, 2013).

Ngamsang, Sirirat and John Walsh, “Sino-Thai Relations in Historical Perspective: The Implications for Contemporary Organizational Management,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 22-23^rd, 2013).

Putthithanasombat, Pramaha Min, Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, Sirirat Ngamsang and John Walsh, “Cross-Border Exchanges in the Western Mekong Region: The Role of Monks and the Laity,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 22-23^rd, 2013).

Pinyochatchinda, Supaporn and John Walsh, “Consciousness of Social Responsibility at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and Pollution Management,” paper presented at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (First Hotel, Bangkok, June 22-23^rd, 2013).

Water Resource Allocation Issues in Thailand

Announcing: Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Water Resource Allocation Issues in Thailand,” International Postgraduate Business Journal, Vol.5, No.1 (2013), pp.31-47, available at: http://www.oyagsb.uum.edu.my/images/IPBJ/list%20isue/2013_vol_5/artikal_jurnal_IPBJ_bab_2_1.pdf.

Abstract:

The allocation of scarce resources has been problematic throughout modern history, particularly in the case of a resource as critical to human existence as water. Grounds for allocation include considerations of ideology, politics and equity. In conditions of increasing uncertainty regarding the supply of water resulting from global climate change and its effects, as well as continuously intensifying demand for water from industrial, agricultural, tourist and residential interests, the means and effectiveness of allocation decisions has become one of the most important decisions that governmental agencies are required to make. This issue is examined through the case study of Thailand, which is a country in a sub-tropical region receiving considerable rainfall during the monsoon season but with enormously elevated levels of demand for water in the contemporary period as the result of industrialization, population increase and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Historically, water allocation has taken place as the result of political contestation between government agencies and the provincial and national levels and private sector organizations and individuals. However, in a changing political and natural environment, new directions and approaches must be explored. This paper introduces new approaches to the issue of water allocation and highlights the changes in thinking required for future decision-making under conditions of greater unpredictability of supply and intensification of demand.
Keywords: industry; resource allocation; scarce resources; tourism; water