Jul 26, 2020-2020
Thailand
“Hamtaro!”
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Citizen Activists; High School Students
TARGET
Thai Government; Thai Police; Thai Monarchy; Thai Military
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
Government repression should not be tolerated in any form.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: Thailand’s student-led democracy movement protested the prime minister’s resignation, who seized power in a 2014 coup before he was designated as premier following the controversial 2019 election. The calls for change in the constitution evolved to include reform to the monarchy, sparking unusual public discussion of an institution long shielded from criticism by law. Demonstrations began in February 2020, after a court-ordered a pro-democracy opposition party to dissolve.
Dilemma Action: On July 26, 2020, inspired by the Japanese cartoon ‘Hamtaro’, the protesters took inspiration from the main character, a hamster, by running in circles to imitate being in a hamster wheel and chanting, “Dissolve the parliament” and “Authoritarians, get out.” A group of at least 1,500 high school students ran around in one public place as if they were hamsters (like the manga character) while singing the Hamtaro theme song together, thus claiming they were just jogging, not protesting. A protester, clutching a plush figure of Hamtaro said the hamster-inspired protest was a way of getting away from traditional forms of demonstrating in the hope that the government would take notice. This was in direct opposition to bans on public gatherings of five or more people.
Outcome: Groups also planned other themes for protests, including Japanese cartoon characters Naruto and Harry Potter. Japanese publishing house Shogakukan, which owns the license to Hamtaro, declined to comment on the use of the cartoon in Thai protests. Young people grew up with these popular culture characters and they helped add new dimensions to the movement, making it relatable and easy to communicate with young people.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Slogans/caricatures/symbols
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
11 / 12
(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(PUN) Punishment favored the activists
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
Artivism
Laugtivism
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
2 / 3
Encouraged more participants to join the movement
Internally replicated by the same movement
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
Sombatpoonsiri, Janjira. 2021. “From Repression to Revolt: Thailand’s 2020 Protests and the Regional Implications,” GIGA. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publications/giga-focus/repression-revolt-thailand-s-2020-protests-regional-implications).
Prasanth, Anagha. 2020. “Thailand Use Emergency Decree To Ban Public Gathering After Protest Escalate,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://newsaurchai.com/thailand-use-emergency-decree-ban-public-gathering/).
Global News. 2021. “Thai protesters mock government with cartoon song,” YouTube. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9a4RXZbSNU).
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