Political Analysis: Conceptual Frameworks Theories and Applications in the Contemporary World and the Thai Context

Abstract

This academic consists purposes to present political analysis as a crucial scholarly tool for understanding the dynamics of power, policy, and political structures in the modern world-one increasingly shaped by the complexities of globalization, digital technologies, and democratic challenges. In the Thai context, political institutions, cultures of power, and social identities continue to play a profound role in shaping political behavior. Accordingly, the article integrates analytical frameworks from global political science with contemporary Thai-specific perspectives in order to explain the multi-level power relations and the increasingly complex socio-political dynamics of the present era. The author draws upon the conceptual foundations of Lasswell, Shively, Heywood, Hall & Taylor, and March & Olsen, alongside Thai scholarly contributions on patron–client systems, political elites, and policy processes. This synthesis connects theoretical traditions from multiple schools of thought with the lived realities of contemporary Thai politics. Conceptually, the author argues that political analysis is not merely an empirical exercise but a process of synthesis that weaves together factual dimensions with normative and ethical considerations. The article classifies six major analytical frameworks-structural–institutional, behavioral and decision-making, interest-group, critical and class-based, identity and discourse-oriented, and contemporary Thai-specific approaches-each offering systematic insights into power structures, policy processes, and state-society interactions. In the Thai socio-political context, political participation has shifted from an era dominated by state- and institution-led politics toward a period in which citizens play a more prominent role through online platforms, civic media, and new social movements. Future trends indicate that Thai politics will increasingly become a contested arena between traditional power holders and emerging social forces that mobilize identity, discourse, and technology as key instruments. Consequently, political analysis must operate simultaneously at structural and interpretive levels to achieve a comprehensive understanding of contemporary political phenomena.