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Abstract

Since 2022, Thailand has pursued varying levels of measures in cracking down on transnational scams, ranging from tightening telecommunication regulations to cutting utilities to Myanmar border towns that are known to host large scam complexes. These operations impact both Thai citizens and Chinese tourists, the latter of which were the largest group of tourists in the country. There have been multiple cases where Chinese tourists were trafficked to work in these complexes, including the kidnapping of a Chinese celebrity in January 2025. Due to the dangers posed to its citizens and interests, China began pressuring Thailand to take more substantial actions. However, despite the substantial economic and reputational costs, it still took external pressure for Thailand to take more drastic actions against transnational scams. At certain times, Thailand has pursued minimal actions, and other times, more substantial actions. By examining the costs of inaction, the thesis aims to explain the variance in the level of actions by answering the following questions: 1) Why did the government tolerate the costly issue for a period of time before changing course? and 2) What drives Thailand’s actions to combat scam call centers along the Myanmar border? Through the use of process tracing based on theories covering Thailand’s political instability and factionalism, as well as the role of bureaucracy in foreign policy making, the thesis argues that internal domestic contestation, bureaucratic politics, and pressure from interest groups were the main hindrances to more drastic policy actions to combat transnational scams in Thailand’s borderlands. External pressure from China was instrumental in eventually overcoming and suppressing these hindrances. Political instability and bureaucracy prevented the continuity of policy implementation; meanwhile, the Thai government continues to placate large telecommunication companies. This meant that external pressure from China acted as a key factor in overcoming and suppressing the bureaucratic and domestic political deadlock in Thailand, forcing Thailand to take more drastic measures, such as cutting electricity to scam complexes, as the cost of minimal actions is now too high. As such, this is another demonstration of China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia.