THE KING’S PHILOSOPHY AND NATIONAL POWER FACTORS INFLUENCING PROBLEM-SOLVING IN THE SOUTHERN BORDER PROVINCES

Abstract

Objectives of this research article were: 1. To explore the King’s Philosophy for geographical area development, 2. To study the national power factors that influenced the country’s development and lead to solutions to problems in the Southern border provinces, and 3. To propose guidelines for applying the King’s Philosophy and national power factors to solve problems in the Southern border provinces. This research employed a qualitative research design, using the interview form as a tool to collect data from the key informants. A purposive sampling method was used to select 60 key informants who included local government administrators, local leaders, religious leaders, community leaders, educational personnel, public health personnel, local scholars, government officials working on important projects (SBPAC), and local people.

The results showed that in order to solve problems in the Southern border provinces, it is necessary to adopt the King’s Philosophy of “understanding, accessing, and developing” and the philosophy of sufficiency economy as the central drivers and apply the national power factors in geographical area development. Moreover, it is important to understand and use the strengths of geographical and cultural diversity to drive development in each area according to geographical potential and to create and maintain local identities for tourism. Modern science and technology should also be used to improve production in the agricultural sector and strengthen local economies. The government should increase the confidence of local people, hold open forums to hear their opinions, and treat everybody in an equal, fair, and non-discriminatory manner. This will finally give local people a sense of belonging and encourage them to take part in collaborative problem-solving.