PSU Pattani Lecturer's Analysis of Southern Border Violence

Matichon•Politics•2d ago

Reader Briefing

Ekkarin Tuansari, a lecturer at Prince of Songkla University Pattani Campus, proposed three frameworks for understanding the southern border unrest and three misconceptions that should be abandoned.

•Ekkarin Tuansari posted an analysis on Facebook on August 24 regarding the situation in the southern border provinces.
•The analysis identifies three explanatory frameworks: political conflict involving BRN, the efficiency of the state security structure, and benefits derived from the conflict.
•Ekkarin Tuansari suggests abandoning beliefs that Malaysia wants to annex the provinces, linking everything to international terrorism, or that the solution is making Malay people more Thai.

Overview

•Ekkarin Tuansari stated on August 24 that the problem in the southern border is not a lack of knowledge, but rather which type of knowledge has the power to define state policy.
•Ekkarin Tuansari identifies the first framework as a political conflict where BRN is a key actor with its own political goals, meaning security measures alone cannot address issues of justice and power distribution.
•Ekkarin Tuansari identifies a second framework focusing on the efficiency of the state security structure, noting that the southern border provinces have been under special laws and budgets for over 22 years.
•Ekkarin Tuansari identifies a third framework regarding the benefits derived from the conflict, noting that long-term instability creates positions, budgets, and power networks within the bureaucracy.
•Ekkarin Tuansari argues that Malaysia's role in the region is based on interests and peace-building rather than a desire to annex the three southern border provinces.
•Ekkarin Tuansari suggests that linking southern violence to international terrorism or Islamophobia obscures the actual roots of the problem, which are history, politics, and identity.
•Ekkarin Tuansari asserts that Malay identity does not conflict with being a citizen of the Thai state and that the Thai language should not be used as a measure of credibility for those expressing pain.
•Ekkarin Tuansari mentions the March 2026 shooting of Kamolsak Leewamah, a Prachachat Party MP, as a case where state-related vehicles and personnel were involved.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Read on Matichon (Thai Version)View in Google Translate

Source: Matichon (Original)

Key Entities

Person

Ekkarin Tuansari(เอกรินทร์ ต่วนศริ)

A lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus.

Kamolsak Leewamah(กมลศักดิ์ ลีวาเมาะ)

An MP from the Prachachat Party who was targeted in a shooting in March 2026.

Organization

Faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus(คณะรัฐศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยสงขลานครินทร์ วิทยาเขตปัตตานี)

The academic institution where Ekkarin Tuansari serves as a lecturer.

BRN

A key actor in the violence in the southern border provinces with its own political goals and structure.

Prachachat Party(พรรคประชาชาติ)ℹ️

The political party to which Kamolsak Leewamah belongs.

ISOC(กอ.รมน.)

A security agency that stated it would wait for police investigation results and not protect wrongdoers.

World Bank(ธนาคารโลก)ℹ️

An organization that classifies Malaysia as an upper-middle-income country.

Place

Malaysia(มาเลเซีย)ℹ️

A neighboring country involved in the southern border situation through borders, language, and peace talks.

Southern Border Provinces(จังหวัดชายแดนภาคใต้)

The region in Thailand experiencing long-term unrest and violence.