Polling for Peace in Southern Thailand

 Small GrantUniversity Affiliation: Prince of Songkla UniversityLength of research: 1 yearResearch objectives: To study the process of the peace poll in southern Thailand; and to study the peace poll lessons from other cases that might be applied to the peace process in southern Thailand.Significance of research (relevance to SHAPE SEA objectives and research): Building peace is a long, complex process involving many actors, steps and a variety of tools. The important recommendations that can help to enhance peace process are trust among conflicting parties and understanding the needs of the local people. Getting opinions from the local people could make some positive changes in the conflicting area. One way to involve the citizenry is through surveys or polling.Personal BioDr. Kayanee Chor Boonpunth is a lecturer at the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, Thailand. Her areas of interest are peacebuilding and ethnic conflicts. She graduated from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. The topic of her PhD thesis is “An Analysis of the Role of Civil Society in Building Peace in Ethno-religious Conflict: A Case Study of the Three Southernmost Provinces of Thailand”.