Finding their voice : Northeastern villagers and the Thai state / Charles Keyes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keyes, Charles F., author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

xiv, 262 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Chiang Mai, Thailand : Silkworm Books, 2014.

Summary:

The rural, Lao-speaking people of northeastern Thailand constitute over a third of the entire population of Thailand. Over the last century, this ethnically separate community has evolved from a traditional peasantry into "cosmopolitan" villagers who are actively shaping Thai politics. Eminent anthropologist Charles Keyes traces this evolution in detail, beginning with the failure of a Buddhist millenarian uprising in 1901-2 and concluding with the successful election of the Thai Rak Thai/Pheu Thai Party in the 2000s. In the intervening century, rural northeasterners have become more educated and more prosperous, and they have gained a sophisticated understanding of the world and of their position in it as Thai citizens. Although northeasterners have often been thwarted in their efforts to press government agencies to redress their grievances, they have rejected radical revolutionary efforts to transform the Thai political system. Instead, they have looked to parliamentary democracy as the system in which they can make their voices heard. Their strong support for the Pheu Thai Party and the Red Shirt movement appear to have finally given them an authentic and continuing voice in the nation's political process. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Rural Isan 1

2 The Foundations of lsan 15

3 Buddhist Millenialist Roots of Isan Political Culture 33

4 Isan Becoming Thai 53

5 Monarchy, Security, and Development 91

6 The Failure of Communist Revolution and the Rise of Non-Governmental Organizations 115

7 Entrepreneurs, Migrants, and Protestors: Northeastern Thai Villagers Seek Development on Their Own Terms 135

8 Silent Peasants No Longer: Northeastern Villagers and the New Politics of Thailand 175.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-252) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

6162150747

9786162150746

OCLC:

862787919

Publisher Number:

99958859318