Navigating through Uncertainties: Dwelling in the Transition of Thai Society

Abstract

This article interrogates the multifaceted nature of uncertainty pervading Thai society over the past decade. Rather than approaching uncertainty as an external metric, we conceptualize it as intrinsically woven into the fabric of lived experience—reflecting how individuals navigate and make meaning within rapidly transforming social, economic, and environmental landscapes. The turbulent reconfigurations of Thai society have generated novel forms of precarity while intensifying existing vulnerabilities, compelling citizens to develop adaptive strategies for survival and meaning-making. Our research delves into five critical domains where uncertainty has profoundly reshaped Thai lifeworlds: the disruption of urban labor regimes; the increasing precariousness of agricultural land tenure; the volatility of political institutions; the acceleration of religious and consumption practices; and the environmental uncertainties manifested through recurring haze crises. Through comparative analysis across these domains, we illuminate the diverse epistemological frameworks and tactical responses employed by differently situated individuals confronting uncertainty. This approach reveals uncertainty not merely as a condition to be managed, but as a productive site where new social relationships, knowledge systems, and imaginative futures are actively negotiated and contested. The study contributes to broader theoretical conversations by demonstrating how uncertainty functions simultaneously as a technology of governance and a space of possibility—where dominant power structures are both reinforced and challenged through everyday practices of adaptation, resistance, and aspiration.