Multiculturalism at the Glance: Multiculturalism through National Security Dimension in the Deep South Policy Plan
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Abstract
This qualitative research is based on the "Multiculturalism". Its major goal was to examine the multiculturalism in the Southern Border Provinces Administration and Development Policy from 2012 to 2014, 2017 to 2019, and 2021 to 2023, which were implemented in the southern border provinces. The Office of the National Security Council (NSC), the Southern Border Provinces Administration Center (SBPAC), and the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Office (ISOC 4) are the three key organizations involved in this policy as policymakers and practitioners. Its goal is to comprehend the multiculturalism written into the policy by analyzing the materials in the policy plan and interviewing persons involved in the policy to learn about their perspectives of the multicultural policy in the southern border areas. The findings revealed that the multiculturalism idea was used to security policy in the three southern border provinces as a strategy to re-establish the local people’s trust after all long intense conflicts in the area. However, different levels of understanding about multiculturalism in the government sector resulted in a mistranslation of policy into action, which likely resulted in long-term distrust between government - people and between Muslim and Buddhist people in the area. Moreover, the policy discouraged the local people from involvement in the decision-making process and reflecting the actual problems. As aforementioned, the inclusion of multiculturalism in national security policy will not result in positive peace and trust in conflict areas both vertically and horizontally.
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