APPLICATION OF BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES AND THE POLITICAL COMMUNICATION TO PROMOTE TO BUILD POPULARITY IN LOCAL ELECTIONS IN NAKHON SI THAMMARAT PROVINCE

Abstract

Objectives of this research article were: 1. To study the general condition of applying Buddhist principles to promote politicians’  popularity in local elections in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province; 2. To study the factors affecting the politicians' communication in politics to build popularity in local polls in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, and 3. To study the guidelines of applying Buddhist principles to promote politicians’ popularity in regional elections in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province by applying Sappurisa-dhamma, conducted by mixed methods.  The quantitative research data was collected by using a questionnaire from 400 samples. The statistic package program analyzed the data. The qualitative research data were collected from 18 key informants through a structured, in-depth interview and analyzed using the content analysis technique.

The research results were as follows: 1. The general condition of popularity in local elections was overall high. 2. education was the first important thing for people; its purpose was to enhance public benefits, followed by political participation channels, policy processes, and representation. It shows good political consciousness, resulting in the popularity of local elections. 2. Political communication was affected by the popularity of local elections in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, with statistical significance at the level of .001, sorted by aspects: sender, channel, message, and receiver, respectively. The seven Sappurisa-dhamma affected the popularity in local elections in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province with statistically significant levels at .001 and .05, sorted by aspects as follows: Mattannuta, the knowing of moderation, Kalannuta, the knowing of time, Attannuta, the knowing of oneself, Parisannuta, the knowing of the populated communities, and Dhammannuta, the knowing of causes, respectively. 3. An application of Buddhist principles to promote politicians’ popularity in local elections in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province was knowing how important the reasons for local elections, knowing of existing roles and responsibilities, knowing of principles of situations of local problems evaluation and problems solving, knowing the evaluated and the process of local problem-solving process.