Comments on: Revisiting the rural constitution http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2008/07/02/revisiting-the-rural-constitution/ New perspectives on mainland Southeast Asia Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:46:18 +1100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: jonfernquest http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2008/07/02/revisiting-the-rural-constitution/comment-page-1/#comment-492601 jonfernquest Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:16:08 +0000 http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/?p=2488#comment-492601 It's good to see these issues becoming the subject of careful historical scrutiny and analysis, as evidenced by the important academic journal the article appeared in (see below) and the detailed evidence garnered in the paper. As the paper shows, the different modes of rural participation have been the subject of many cursory generalisations not backed by evidence in the past (probably under the time constraints of journalism). However, a rebuttal or review is called for. One issue may be whether one country's experience can be studied in isolation (this prompted me to compare South Korea's New Village Movement). You could still concede that money transactions are a legitimate part of rural voting practice, while arguing that pure equity-based money transfers to the rural sector without any accompanying increase in productivity might ultimate lead to a Latin American populist style drag on the economy that Anek Laothamatas discusses. http://www.geocities.com/changnoi2/prophet.htm Vote Buying and Village Outrage in an Election in Northern Thailand: Recent Legal Reforms in Historical Context, KATHERINE A. BOWIE The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 67, No. 2 (May) 2008: 469–511. It’s good to see these issues becoming the subject of careful historical scrutiny and analysis, as evidenced by the important academic journal the article appeared in (see below) and the detailed evidence garnered in the paper.

As the paper shows, the different modes of rural participation have been the subject of many cursory generalisations not backed by evidence in the past (probably under the time constraints of journalism).

However, a rebuttal or review is called for. One issue may be whether one country’s experience can be studied in isolation (this prompted me to compare South Korea’s New Village Movement). You could still concede that money transactions are a legitimate part of rural voting practice, while arguing that pure equity-based money transfers to the rural sector without any accompanying increase in productivity might ultimate lead to a Latin American populist style drag on the economy that Anek Laothamatas discusses.
http://www.geocities.com/changnoi2/prophet.htm

Vote Buying and Village Outrage in an Election
in Northern Thailand: Recent Legal Reforms in
Historical Context, KATHERINE A. BOWIE
The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 67, No. 2 (May) 2008: 469–511.

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