From domestic legitimacy to international recognition: Sufficiency Economy Philosophy as foreign policy in Thailand

Abstract: This thesis explored the usage of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) by asking if its use in Thai foreign policy is a tool for political legitimacy and international recognition? SEP was coined by the late Thai King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, as an alternative development approach. It espoused moderation, reasonableness and immunity with the support of knowledge and morality. It became a pillar of Thai politics as the 2014 coup-makers, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), introduced the concept at the UN as way to realize the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This thesis used qualitative content analysis on nine foreign policy speeches to better understand this shift in Thai foreign policy. Five categories of usage were extracted, namely, 1. Thailand’s role in the international community, 2. the monarchy, 3. Forward Engagement Policy, 4. values of the NCPO, and 5. localization of SEP. The thesis concludes that the NCPO’s SEP narrative internationally functions both as a way to gain domestic political legitimacy, by association to the monarchy and its moral principles, as well as a tool for international recognition by having SEP be accepted for its usefulness in realizing the SDG, despite its connection to an authoritarian regime.