A MODEL FOR CREATING CIVIL PEACE TO REDUCE CONFLICT IN MIDDLE-CLASS SOCIETY, PHETCHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the social conflict situation among the middle class in Phetchaburi Province; 2) to develop a peace-building process to eliminate social conflicts; 3) to investigate guidelines for resolving social conflicts based on Buddhist peaceful means; and 4) to propose a model for creating civil peace to reduce social conflicts among the middle class in Phetchaburi Province. This study employed a mixed-method research design. For the qualitative approach, structured interviews were conducted for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 10 key informants, including community leaders, middle-class citizens across 5 occupations, and Buddhist monks. For the quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to a sample of the middle class in Phetchaburi Province, resulting in 330 completed responses. Statistical analysis included percentage, mean, standard deviation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

The research findings revealed that:

1. The overall social conflict situation was at a moderate level. However, the dimension of power conflict was at a high level, characterized by political polarization and the dissemination of distorted information to discredit opposing factions. In the economic dimension, conflicts arose from monopolies and business operations of local capitalists and influential figures. Meanwhile, religious beliefs and the institution of the monarchy did not cause severe conflicts.


2. The overall peace-building process was rated at a high level. This included the Threefold Training (focusing on morality and empathy), Good Friendliness (Kalyanamitta: active listening and gentle communication), Forgiveness (Abhayadana: emotional awareness and mindful speech), and the Virtues for Fraternal Living (Saraniyadhamma: mindful expression and recognition of human equality). Furthermore, individuals with education higher than a bachelor's degree demonstrated significantly higher behaviors in civil peace-building than other groups at a statistically significant level of 0.05.


3. The overall guidelines for conflict management based on Buddhist peaceful means were at a moderate level. The highest mean score was found in the dimension of vision, collaboration, and creative out-of-the-box thinking, emphasizing sincere communication and mutual understanding among all stakeholders. Hypothesis testing indicated that males had a higher level of conflict management capability than females, and conflict management had a moderate positive correlation with civil peace-building at a statistically significant level of 0.05.


4. The model for creating civil peace was overall and in all aspects rated at a high level, comprising 5 core pillars: (1) monks acting as mediators to propagate Dhamma; (2) leaders maintaining justice, integrity, and transparency; (3) village committees being honest, unbiased