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Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Purposes of study

In the age of globalization, people from different cultural backgrounds become increasingly
interconnected. There are many people who migrate to Thailand to make their lives here. The
objective of this study is to shed light on the experiences of farang expats who work and live
in Bangkok. In doing so, this research aims to help gain a better understanding of the
situation of being a farang in Thailand as experienced by expats from English speaking
countries. Furthermore, this study also aims to look at integration and interculturalism in
Thailand from the perceptions of farang people and how they see Thailand and to explore the
ways we can benefit from the knowledge of foreigners and Thais and Thais and foreigners.
These are important aspects to consider when it comes to integration. To find out the desired
results of this research, the study was divided into four main categories: 1. Social acceptance
of Thai society towards farang expats living in Thailand; 2. The treatment of foreigners under
Thai law; 3. The depictions of farang in Thai society; and 4. The suggestions on integration
and interculturalism in Thailand.

The main reasons why I chose expats from English speaking counties as the study
group in this thesis is because people in these countries share the same language and some
important cultural backgrounds with each other, including individualism and low power
distance. According to the theory of dimensions of culture created by Hofstede, the USA,
Australia, the UK and Canada scored low at individualism and power-distance and scored
high at masculinity (Hofstede 2011, 1-17). The major dimension that makes English speaking
nations stand out from other Western countries is individualism. According to Hofstedes
theory, the USA, Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand are the top five most
individualistic countries in the world which scored higher on individualism dimension than
for example German speaking countries. The main cultural difference between English
speaking nations and other Western countries is that uncertainty avoidance index scores are
likely to be higher in East and Central European countries and in German speaking countries,
but lower in English speaking nations. For the indulgence dimension, it is low in Nordic
countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and in the Netherlands), but it is higher in
English speaking countries (Hofstede 2011, 11-13). Anglosphere or English-speaking
civilization is a set of beliefs that English speaking countries shared fundamental values,
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customs and cultures with each other. The Anglosphere encompasses the United States and
the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. English speaking nations
have not only formed a unique branch of Western civilization for most of history, they are
now becoming a different civilization in their own way (Bennett 2002). Regarding The Clash
of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington, he mentions that
the world has 9 civilizations, consisting of Western, Orthodox, Islamic, African, Latin-
American, Sinic, Hindu, Japanese and Buddhist civilizations. The West includes Europe,
North America, and other European settler countries such as Australia and New Zealand
(Huntington 2011, 40-55). This is the main reason why my thesis aims to look deeply into
how expats from English speaking countries perceive interculturalism and integration in
Thailand.

In many discussions I have had with participants during the course of my research,
for example when joining expat communities and spending my time with many types of
expats in Bangkok, I got more and more the impression that certain challenges have not really
been explored yet. It is well-known that well-educated foreigners often leave Thailand due to
not being fully capable of settling in properly. The reason usually mentioned is that they have
strong difficulties in becoming part of the community and building a social network.
However, many participants mention that they do not only struggle with integration, but they
also feel that they are unwanted in Thailand. That was the main reason to look more closely
into this topic and served as the motivation for conducting this research. Therefore,
considering often voiced determined for a highly skilled workforce from abroad, it is worth
looking at the related challenges and then proposing solutions.

1.2 Research problems and hypotheses

The first problem is when expats do not feel welcome by the host country, they tend to look
for other places where the atmosphere is better for them. Well-educated and professional
experienced people are able to choose their host country because their skills are needed in
many other countries. If they leave, Thailand loses their knowledge and experience.
Executing work and developing products and services may take longer or it might not be
possible at all. However their influence does not stop with these expats leaving the country.
Many times they spread the word of their negative experience and are potentially influencing
others not to come. Therefore, Thailand will miss out on prospects and jobs, tax money, new
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innovation, skilled workers and foreign investment. Therefore, if no action is taken, Thailand
will potentially lose out economically and socially.

Hypothesis: Many participants consider themselves as an outsider of Thai society, because of

various factors, such as different physical appearance, unstable resident status and different
cultural backgrounds (see: Howard, 2009, 193-221). The function of Thainess, (us) Thai and
(them) Western otherness is also a main problem that makes expats think they are not a part
of Thai society (see: Pavin, 2005, 3-23). Secondly, the negative perceptions of expats on Thai
society derive from a poor treatment of foreigners by Thais, such as dual pricing and
scammers. Finally, the feelings of being unwelcomed are strengthened by the strict visa
regulations, which are still undeveloped, compared to other multicultural countries, and this
problem makes it hard for expats to integrate into Thai society.

The second problem is that misunderstandings between both Thais and expats which are a
constraint to building positive relationships with each other are still prevalent. If there is no
interaction, mutual trust and respect among people from different backgrounds and social
integration will fail (Cantle 2013, 129).

Hypothesis: It is a lack of intercultural relations between Thais and expats that causes the
wide gap between those groups. The building of mutual trust and understanding should be the
responsibility of the both sides (Barrett 2004, 110-111). The language and cultural barriers
also make a wide gap between Thais and Westerners. More importantly, misunderstandings
and misconceptions originate from the stereotypes and prejudices of Thais towards expats
who have been living and working in Thailand.

The last problem is the failure of Thailand as an integrated country to embrace diversity and
multiculturalism. In the past, the United States had a hard time bridging people from different
backgrounds together and the assimilation process was used to force people to leave their
own identity to become a full member in the mainstream society. It has already been proved
that this concept is not going to help bridge the gap between different cultural and ethnic
groups (Jandt 2010, 333-334). Current Thai society has to choose to become an assimilated or
an integrated society.

Hypothesis: The narrow definition of Thainess causes the social unacceptance of cultural,
ethnic and racial diversity in Thailand (Saichol, 2005, 24-26). There is still a wide gap
between being Thai and being farang. The undeveloped immigration law and a lack of
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multiculturalism, interculturalism and social integration policies have impeded the raising
public awareness among people.

By examining the experience of a large number of people it is my hope that problems

can be identified and solutions found to help bridge the gap between Thais and farang expats.
The results of the survey give a strong signal that there is in fact a problem of foreigners not
having a general feeling of being wanted here. The majority of the Thai people may not be
aware that their behavior towards foreigners might give such a different impression from how
it is intended. Not feeling wanted is not only unpleasant in general, it has the consequence
that it strongly influences expats to leave Thailand (and many are leaving), thereby having
serious consequences for Thailands economics and its multiculturalism and diversity, not to
mention the people that uproot their lives and move due to the circumstances. It is my hope
that the results of this study start a thought process and an intercultural dialog that can raise
the social awareness of social integration and interculturalism among Thai people.

1.3 Research questions

When approaching this study, I decided to focus on four main areas of interest: Social
interaction, the government and authority, the depictions of foreigners and interculturalism in
Thailand. Out of this initial interest and from the information emerging from the interviews
with the participants, it became obvious that communication was integral to the overall
experience. As a result, this thesis attempts to answer the following four questions:

1. Based on expats personal experiences, what are societal attitudes towards farang expats
and diversity in Thailand?

2. How do farang expats feel about the treatment of the government and authorities to
foreigners living in Thailand?

3. What do they think about the depictions of farang expats living in Thailand?

4. What is their advice on integration and interculturalism in Thailand?

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1.4 Thesis Structure

This thesis is divided into the following six chapters:

1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the topic as well as its objectives.

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Literature Review: This chapter outlines selected literature on the topic relevant to this
study

4. Methodology: This chapter provides an overview of the research method that was used to
conduct this study, including research method, ethical considerations, recruitment of
participations, and the interview process as well as the analysis.

5. Analysis and Results: This chapter presents the perspectives of twenty-six interviews
conducted with farang expats who live in Thailand. It is divided into four main headings: The
social acceptance of Thais to farang expats, the treatment of foreigners under Thai law, the
images of being a farang, and integration/interculturalism in Thailand.

6. Conclusion: The final chapter presents the implications of this thesis, including its
limitations and possibilities for future research.

1.5 Definition of the terms

1. Expats

The term expat is commonly used to refer to foreign workers who reside in a country for an
indeterminate length of time (Jandt 2010, 291). In this study, the term expat will be defined
by any short-term and long-term residents from English speaking countries who lived in
Thailand between August 2014 and April 2015.

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2. Farang

The term farang in this study is used to refer to any White person without specifically
referring to any ethnicity, nationality, or culture. Farang can often be used ambiguously to
refer to Westerners of European descent because the term farang does not refer specifically
1
No official figure exists to include all farang living in Thailand. However, Robert Howard
states that there are 100,000 white Westerners who are living in Thailand (Howard 2009,
203).
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to any nationality, culture, ethnicity, language etc. (Thongchai 1994, 4-5). Even though
farang is generally a neutral word in Thai, in some cases it can be used with a negative

connotation to look down on White people who are ill-behaved like Farang Khinok (
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, white Trash). The term farang is frequently used to categorize a group of white
Western people without a clear understanding of its exact meaning. In the Thai contexts,
farang is a cultural characteristic of cosmopolitan discourse and the overtone of the term
displays how the Thais have made a social discourse of their encounters with white people
and Western otherness throughout history (Pattana 2010, 57-60).

3. Westerners

There is no clear cut definition of the term Westerners or Western world. This is because
the terms Western and Eastern are used to refer to geographical differences rather than
specifically identify one particular country or culture. According to the Clash of Civilizations
and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington, the West refers to Europe, North
America, plus other European settler countries such as Australia and New Zealand, but most
of Eastern European and South American countries might not be counted as a part of Western
civilization. (Huntington 2011, 40-55). This means a Westerner is someone who originated
from the West, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion and nationality. In a multicultural
country, national, racial and ethnic boundaries are often used to classify membership in both
groups, for example, in the United States, people usually identify themselves as white or
European Americans, African or black Americans and Asian Americans (Bennett 2013).
Nevertheless, the term Westerners should not only refer to a white person, but including
other ethnic groups who live in a Western country. In this study, we will use the term
Westerners to refer to people who are originated from a Western country.

4. White people

The term white people is associated with whiteness studies which are emerging as a
popular subject in the United of America, the United Kingdom and other predominantly white
countries. The concept of whiteness is what we currently call a pan racial category, as a way
to lump all European ethnic populations such as German, Italian, British and others together
as white people (Jay 2007, 96-102). As Jandt (2010) emphasizes race refers to the physical
characteristic of people which is the outcome of the mating behavior of their ancestors (Jandt

2
Khinok means bird shit in Thai.
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2010, 28). The term white people is usually used to refer to people of European descent
with white skin color. Interestingly, white people are also not a homogeneous group because
they can identify themselves as white Americans, white British, white Germans, and white
Canadians and so on. This means an ethnic identity might be a more accurate identification to
refer to the differences between each white person. In this study, we will use the term
whites to refer to people of European descent.