'Arghiros' in-depth study of local level politics sheds much light on an often neglected aspect of Thailand's political scene. Although an Anthropologist , Arghiros persuasively moves between his home discipline and that of politics and sociology, and in so doing opens up useful interdisciplinary insights.' - Democratization'It is seldom that one picks up a book on contemporary Thailand written with as clear and holistic examination of a topic as timely and pertinent as this ... a pioneering contribution to the social anthropology of provincial Thai electoral politics in the late twentieth century.' - Southeast Asian Studies

• 1: Introduction; 2: The Thai State, Democracy, Decentralization and Development; 3: Rural Transformations in a Central Thai District; 4: From the ‘Era of Dictatorship' to the ‘Era of Democracy': The Election of a Subdistrict Head; 5: ‘It's About Giving': The Provincial Council Election of 1990; 6: A Coup, Three General Elections and Learning Democracy: Local Participation in National Politics 1990–1995; 7: ‘You Can't Beat Money': The Provincial Council Election of 1995 and the General Election of 1996; 8: Money, Decentralization and Democratization; 9: Conclusion

'Arghiros' in-depth study of local level politics sheds much light on an often neglected aspect of Thailand's political scene. Although an Anthropologist , Arghiros persuasively moves between his home discipline and that of politics and sociology, and in so doing opens up useful interdisciplinary insights.' - Democratization'It is seldom that one picks up a book on contemporary Thailand written with as clear and holistic examination of a topic as timely and pertinent as this ... a pioneering contribution to the social anthropology of provincial Thai electoral politics in the late twentieth century.' - Southeast Asian Studies

• 1: Introduction; 2: The Thai State, Democracy, Decentralization and Development; 3: Rural Transformations in a Central Thai District; 4: From the ‘Era of Dictatorship' to the ‘Era of Democracy': The Election of a Subdistrict Head; 5: ‘It's About Giving': The Provincial Council Election of 1990; 6: A Coup, Three General Elections and Learning Democracy: Local Participation in National Politics 1990–1995; 7: ‘You Can't Beat Money': The Provincial Council Election of 1995 and the General Election of 1996; 8: Money, Decentralization and Democratization; 9: Conclusion

'Arghiros' in-depth study of local level politics sheds much light on an often neglected aspect of Thailand's political scene. Although an Anthropologist , Arghiros persuasively moves between his home discipline and that of politics and sociology, and in so doing opens up useful interdisciplinary insights.' - Democratization'It is seldom that one picks up a book on contemporary Thailand written with as clear and holistic examination of a topic as timely and pertinent as this ... a pioneering contribution to the social anthropology of provincial Thai electoral politics in the late twentieth century.' - Southeast Asian Studies

• 1: Introduction; 2: The Thai State, Democracy, Decentralization and Development; 3: Rural Transformations in a Central Thai District; 4: From the ‘Era of Dictatorship' to the ‘Era of Democracy': The Election of a Subdistrict Head; 5: ‘It's About Giving': The Provincial Council Election of 1990; 6: A Coup, Three General Elections and Learning Democracy: Local Participation in National Politics 1990–1995; 7: ‘You Can't Beat Money': The Provincial Council Election of 1995 and the General Election of 1996; 8: Money, Decentralization and Democratization; 9: Conclusion