From Battlefield to Marketplace: The Historical Changes in Thailand Immigration Policies From 1946 to 1992

Authors

  • Sirinda Osiri

Abstract

The trend of cross-border immigration from the neighboring countries to Thailand begun around 1945s due to the wars, internal conflicts, and economic conditions. The wars, especially Indochina wars and the Khmer Rouge force starting in 1975, drove the flow of refugees and migrants from neighboring countries to the destination country like Thailand. After the end of the wars, Thai Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan suggested the policy ‘from the battlefield to the marketplace’ to transform the broader economy and explore greater trades with neighboring countries in 1988. This policy had driven to the real starting point of the influx of immigration flow from neighboring countries to Thailand. This paper is an attempt to explore the historical changes of Thailand’s immigration policies from 1946 to 1992 by reviewing and analyzing the immigration policies through legal, political, and economic literature. The characteristics of immigration policies in each specific time were depended on the economic, social, and political conditions. In addition, the factor of national security has played an important role in the formulation of immigration policies during the Cold War. Before the end of the war, the policies were not clear and supportive enough to welcome immigrants from neighboring countries. While, the immigration policy after “the turning battlefield into market place policy” was more flexible since Thailand started to motivate its foreign investments, and a lot of cheap labor was required. However, the implementation of immigration policies from 1946 to 1992 had not covered the aspect of migration’s right to social protection.

Published

2020-11-01

Issue

Section

Articles