Southern Thailand: Marginalization, injustice and the failure to govern

The region of southern Thailand, comprised of the three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, has been troubled by a persistently contentious relationship between its ethnically Malay Muslim residents and the central state, which governs in practice, if not in name, as an ethnically Thai Buddhist state. Despite the long history of contention, the existence of open violent conflict between state and nonstate actors seemed to have firmly diminished by the mid-1980s with the decline of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and various insurgent Islamic groups that had previously operated in the South. Yet the region remained relatively peaceful for only approximately 20 years. On 4 January 2004, open conflict began again and by late 2011, there were few signs of possible resolution. The resurgence of violent conflict illustrates the limits of strategies of incorporation of ethnic difference by the state and the importance of securing justice for all citizens as part of fostering peace.