SUVANNABHUMI (수완나부미)

Korea Institute for ASEAN Studies (부산외대 아세안연구원)
권호 표지

Things Fall Apart? Thailand's Post-Colonial Politics

  • Received : 2017.04.06
  • Accepted : 2017.06.08
  • Published : 2017.06.30
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Abstract

This paper argues that Thailand's internal colonial model is facing severe challenges: no longer is it so possible to suppress local and regional identities, or to submerge ethnic difference in an all-embracing but potentially suffocating blanket of "Thainess." In recent decades, Thailand's diverse localities have become increasingly assertive. This is most acutely the case in the insurgency-affected southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, but also applies in the "red' (pro-Thaksin) dominated North and Northeast. As the old ruling elite faces serious legitimacy challenges, Thailand's emerging post-colonial politics may require a radical rethinking of the relationship between center and periphery.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This paper began life as a lecture given by the author at Thammasat University's Faculty of Political Science on 8 March 2012. An unauthorised article based on this lecture was published in the Thai journal Fa Diao Kan (as Darin 2012). The current version started out as a back-translation of the Fa Diao Kan piece into English. Many thanks are due to Sombat Chantornvong for the original lecture invitation, to Saowanee Alexander for her excellent translation, and to Michael Montesano for his incisive comments.

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