The Backgrounds, Political Culture and Political Participation of Thai Youth Leaders

This research study is aimed at investigating 1) the relationship between Thai youth leaders ’ levels of knowledge and understanding of democracy, of attitudes toward democracy and of the political behaviors, and 2) how their backgrounds and political culture would influence their level of political participation in the future. The participants in this study consisted of 1,064 members of the National Youth Council, and included representatives from all 76 provinces of Thailand. The result is that the majority of the participants had a) a high level of knowledge and understanding of democracy, b) a medium level of democratic political behaviors and culture, and c) a high level of interest in participating in