Suchergebnisse

"This newly revised and updated ninth edition of Southeast Asia in the New International Era provides readers with contemporary coverage of a vibrant region home to more than 675 million people. Sensitive to historical legacies and paying special attention to developments since the end of the Cold War, this book highlights the events, players, and institutions that shape the region politically and economically. The scope of analysis provides context-specific treatment of the region's eleven countries: Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Three thematic chapters consider broader regional issues: Southeast Asia Political Economy, ASEAN, and South China Sea. Fully updated, the book's revised content includes new discussion of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Myanmar's 2021 military coup, the return of the Marcos clan in the Philippines, political dynasty in Cambodia, youth demonstrations calling for monarchy reform in Thailand, Malaysia's 2022 elections, and the relocation of Indonesia's capital from sinking Jakarta to Borneo. New to this edition is a dedicated chapter explaining the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. An excellent resource for students and professionals seeking to understand Southeast Asia, this book helps makes sense of the region's political complexity while building a solid foundation for further study"--

Thailand's agrarian myth holds that culturally-based, small-scale subsistence farming is the most desirable form of community life for rural Thais. This article outlines Thailand's agrarian myth and argues that its current promotion finds support in an obsolete 'sufficiency ethic', rather than from the country's pragmatically-oriented farmers. Proponents of this myth come from Thailand's cultural and bureaucratic elite, urban intellectuals, and religious fundamentalists. Based on field research and secondary sources the article demonstrates how the attitudes and behaviors of contemporary Thai farmers belie the agrarian myth which non-farming elites now advocate. The article concludes that yellow-shirted proponents of Sufficiency Economy, Community Culture, and austere Buddhist fundamentalism should adjust their vision to the reality that Thailand's forward-looking farmers desire a rural lifestyle beyond the agrarian myth.

Dayley reviews CIVIL SOCIETY IN JAPAN: The Growing Role of NGOs in Tokyo's Aid Development Policy by Keiko Hirata.

Does Thailand still have peasants? Does it still have a peasant society? How dynamic are Thailand's chaona? To answer these questions we begin with an interview of a septuagenarian farmer who discusses rural change over his lifetime and provocatively claims he is 'the last peasant' of his village. We use this rural anecdote as a catalyst to highlight agrarian change in Thailand and to expose the hazards of employing static concepts to describe contemporary rural political economy. By analysing the use and meanings of the term 'peasant' and its Thai equivalents, we demonstrate how static concepts obscure Thailand's rural evolution and contribute to misleading assumptions, harmful agrarian myths, and extant political cleavage. (J Southeast Asian Stud/GIGA)

Does Thailand still have peasants? Does it still have a peasant society? How dynamic are Thailand's chaona? To answer these questions we begin with an interview of a septuagenarian farmer who discusses rural change over his lifetime and provocatively claims he is 'the last peasant' of his village. We use this rural anecdote as a catalyst to highlight agrarian change in Thailand and to expose the hazards of employing static concepts to describe contemporary rural political economy. By analysing the use and meanings of the term 'peasant' and its Thai equivalents, we demonstrate how static concepts obscure Thailand's rural evolution and contribute to misleading assumptions, harmful agrarian myths, and extant political cleavage.