BUDDHIST COMMUNICATION FOR CREATING POLITICAL POPULARITY OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY IN RAYONG PROVINCE

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1. study the political popularity of the Democrat Party in Rayong Province, 2. examine the factors affecting the political popularity of the Democrat Party in Rayong Province, and 3. present Buddhist communication methods for building political popularity for the Democrat Party in Rayong Province. This study employed a mixed-methods design. For the quantitative research, the population consisted of eligible voters in the province. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed through frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. For the qualitative research, data were collected from 18 key informants through structured in-depth interviews and analyzed using descriptive content analysis, while a focus group discussion involving 9 participants was conducted to confirm the body of knowledge derived from the data synthesis.

The findings revealed that: 1. The political popularity of the Democrat Party in Rayong Province was at a high level, with a mean score of 3.94. This was because the public trusted the party's ideology and steadfast stance, which fostered continuous support, and the party's clear past performance and policies helped build public confidence. 2. The factors affecting popularity were found to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level. The key contributing factors were the communication principle, which predicted popularity at 25.0 percent, and the Sappurisadhamma principle, which predicted popularity at as high as 50.9 percent. This was because the application of virtues under the Sappurisadhamma principle namely, knowing the cause, knowing the effect, knowing the appropriate time, and understanding the context of the community and individuals enabled the party to reach the roots of problems and win the hearts of the people more deeply than a general basic communication process could. and 3. The Buddhist communication methods for building political popularity of the Democrat Party in Rayong Province were found to comprehensively apply the principles of Sappurisadhamma, including straightforward and truthful communication, providing opportunities for public participation, responding promptly to issues, and adapting communication styles to suit each target group. This integration of Buddhist principles with political strategy enabled the party to reach and win the hearts of the people in a sustainable manner.