Abstract
This thesis investigates the making of creative industries policy (“CIP”) in Thailand between the early 2000s and 2015. It poses two categories of central questions. First, did CIP emerge as a distinct policy? In particular, were CIP initiatives grafted onto long-existing policies for the promotion of culture and of economic development? Or did CIP assume a distinctive policy profile? Second, what explains the dynamics of the policy process and the substance of the policies adopted? The explanatory account draws on an institutionalist approach to policy analysis and highlights the influence of institutional factors, actors and their interests, and dominant CI-related ideas.The main answers to the questions posed are as follows. Although there were several attempts at establishing CIP as a clearly circumscribed policy focused on the promotion of a selected number of sectors seen to be defined by their “creative elements”, no agreement on what constituted CI and, in particular, what should be the central tenets of CIP emerged. CI as a concept crept into Thai economic policy and, to a lesser extent, cultural policy; but it did not inspire a far-reaching reorientation in either.
CIP did not emerge as a distinctive policy. The period of observation saw major upheavals in political-administrative institutions and in key political actors, with several changes of government; but powerful defenders of cultural policy and long-established economic policy concepts continued to exert major influence on policy development. The policy process was characterised by top-down CIP initiatives that largely failed to diffuse throughout a fragmented bureaucracy. The case study of the film industry underscores this top-down character of policy-making and organisational fragmentation, problems of inter-agency coordination and a lack of systematic engagement with the private sector as key reasons why CIP did not take root in Thailand.
| Date of Award | 1 Nov 2016 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Hye-Kyung Lee (Supervisor) |
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