In the 1960s, the Thai political system was described as a typical bureaucratic polity (Riggs, 1966) and one in which the government decided on and implemented its policies without considering extra-bureaucratic actors (ibid., pp.319-320). Until the 1980s, it was still rare for non-governmental actors to participate directly in decision-making and in the implementation of national administration, even though these actors were able to wield political influence as outsiders, for example through elections and street demonstrations (Prudhisan, 1992). The same system of governance was applied to the field of rural and local development.