My sense is that on New Mandala we could, in this our fourth year, do a better job of identifying and explicitly dealing with a wider range of social and political issues in mainland Southeast Asia. It’s not that we do a bad job; it’s just that sometimes we don’t step back from the immediate issues to consider the hardest questions. More generally, we are still prepared to put important regional issues in the “too hard basket” where, I’m afraid, they may remain for decades.
Recently I invited input from New Mandala readers about Thailand-related issues that are under-studied or even un-studied. It garnered a productive set of responses and a number of interesting, and potentially important, threads for further exploration. It was a great start.
To build on that previous effort I have now put together my list of fifty-two questions for the study of mainland Southeast Asia.
A list of this type will only make sense if I don’t actually know the answers. I can assure you that in all these cases I really don’t know — even if I have hunches or think I know parts of the answers. I hope you will want to add your own questions. Or you may even want to have a go at answering some of these ones yourself.
Obviously not everybody will like the questions but I still feel that they are all worth asking. Some of these are, I’m sure, unanswerable and some of them, until now, have been unaskable.
I offer them as a modest service to the field. All are posed in a spirit of scholarly inquiry.
- Will the educated children of Thai farmers go back to the land?
- In Thailand, what is the nuts-and-bolts process for initiating a prosecution against an alleged lese majeste offender?
- Is any type of class analysis relevant to the modern societies of mainland Southeast Asia?
- What does Senior General Than Shwe do for fun?
- Is China a greater positive influence in the region than we tend to acknowledge?
- What is daily life like for rank-and-file troops in the United Wa State Army?
- Why does the Lao government usually escape the critical scrutiny that falls on Burma and other similar regimes?
- In Thai society is Privy Council Chairman General Prem Tinsulanonda as powerful as we assume?
- How many people are employed by Burma’s censorship apparatus?
- Is mainland Southeast Asia, as a whole, more peaceful in 2009 than it has been at almost any other time in history?
- What are the most appropriate chapter headings for A People’s History of Modern Thailand?
- How important are ethnic Chinese business and political networks for the survival of the Burmese government?
- Do Thais eat differently now that Tesco, Big C, and all the other superstores are on the scene?
- Has the online world forever changed the mechanics, and costs, of government (and non-government) propaganda campaigns?
- Is it possible to quantify the velocity of gossip about Thailand’s royal family?
- What strategies are likely to work best in any future effort to topple the Burmese government?
- With the past decade in mind, do we need to re-theorise understandings of mainland Southeast Asia’s “semi-democracies”?
- Does Thailand have a republican movement in 2009?
- To what extent do academics and journalists still self-censor to retain access to countries like Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma?
- Do the ceasefire groups in Burma expect to be fully dis-armed?
- Who ordered the recent “hit” on People’s Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul?
- What impact does narcotic consumption have on the functioning of Burmese society?
- Are the economic benefits of Thaksin-style “populism” greatly exaggerated?
- What income could a country like Burma receive in any future global “avoided deforestation” scheme?
- Will there ever be quick-and-easy road transportation between Bangkok and Bangladesh?
- Does Thailand intentionally keep Burma unstable so that it can benefit from cheap labour?
- How do cadets at Burma’s Defense Services Academy conceive of their role in the world?
- What part has the US government played in the wars that have raged in eastern Burma?
- Why has King Bhumibol seemingly failed to guarantee an orderly succession?
- Are Hun Sen and Thaksin close?
- What names are on the Thai or Burmese immigration/entry “blacklists”?
- How important is drug trafficking as an income source for members of the Thai elite?
- Do the ramifications of the Vietnam War echo in the countries of Southeast Asia more than we realise?
- Why do most voters in Thailand still need to return to their home province to cast a vote?
- What does former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai think of the current configuration of political power in Thailand?
- How is the history of the Khmer Rouge period taught in Cambodian schools today?
- What ambitions do the Burmese generals harbour for acquiring nuclear weapons?
- Are countries such as Russia, Israel, India and Brazil more important in mainland Southeast Asian affairs than we realise?
- What are the military, political and economic implications of dams along the Mekong?
- Why is there still resistance to embracing academic blogging among scholars, young and old?
- Is Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn really as bad as people make out?
- Will any of the governments of mainland Southeast Asia be prepared to grant long-term and substantial autonomy to the many political movements that still actively resist central control?
- Why did so few people in Thailand condemn the 2003 “War on Drugs” at the time?
- What has been the role of the Singaporean government in supporting dictatorships in mainland Southeast Asia?
- How much of what we currently consider, say, “Burmese”, “Chin” or “Karen” culture would be unrecognisable to people living in those areas 200 years ago?
- What is the ideal role of an academic working in the field of mainland Southeast Asian Studies?
- In September 2006 was Thaksin plotting to maneuver his friends into top positions with the goal of sidelining the monarchy, and democracy, for good?
- Has the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis shifted political feeling in the Delta, or in other parts of Burma?
- Is Laos a viable nation-state in the long-term?
- What changes have mobile phones made to Southeast Asian family dynamics, roles and mores?
- Has the Communist Party of Thailand ever stopped being a force in Thai politics?
- Now that last decade’s buzz about “Asian Tigers” has largely faded, is there a new economic model for the countries of mainland Southeast Asia?
20 responses so far ↓
1 aiontay // Jul 1, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Just a quick take is that #45 is probably not a good question. After all, would Andrew Jackson recognize an Obama administration?
2 Albert // Jul 1, 2009 at 1:30 pm
A good start, Nich. If going back to the land, on question 1, refers to farming I think the works of human geographers have already answered that question long time ago. If not, a most likely trend would be a new form of “going back to the land is emerging”, perhaps in terms of nostalgia and identity.
Another thing, it seems these questions are heavy on Thailand and Burma but low on Laos and Cambodia. Perhaps others can add more prescient questions.
3 Nicholas Farrelly // Jul 1, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Thanks Albert and Aiontay,
I appreciate that some (many?) of these questions will require refinement…and I am all ears in terms of other angles and insights.
The proportion of questions devoted to each country maps, in a general way, the amount of attention the countries receive on New Mandala and also, in a much cruder way, the populations of the respective countries. I accept that my balance is far from ideal.
With that in mind if anyone wants to put together a list of “21 questions for Lao Studies”, “44 questions for Cambodian history”, “13 blind-spots in Yunnan”, etc, we would be delighted to publish them on New Mandala.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
4 Ann-Claire // Jul 1, 2009 at 3:02 pm
point 46#
I think that you do what you can, when you can- and this changes over time. -going into new areas, in a new way is important.
5 sam deedes // Jul 1, 2009 at 3:28 pm
What are the implications of historian Charnvit Kasetsiri’s calls on the PM to adopt Siam as the country’s name? Details: http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/1184
6 Roland // Jul 1, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I think question #47 is unanswerable, until someone discovers a way to read peoples’ thoughts. I wish I had a constructive alternative to offer, but I can’t think of one. On the other hand, it certainly is a question worth speculating on.
7 David Brown // Jul 1, 2009 at 7:02 pm
3. Is any type of class analysis relevant to the modern societies of mainland Southeast Asia? Yes, classes as discussed in the west modified by race/cultural, familial bindings.
7. Why does the Lao government usually escape the critical scrutiny that falls on Burma and other similar regimes? Because everyone is scared to expose US influences on the society!
8. In Thai society is Privy Council Chairman General Prem Tinsulanonda as powerful as we assume? His power achieved through manipulation of the royal family, the military and the courts warrants deep study. How much his personal attributes have and continue to aid or hinder his influence on individuals and organisations. A tree of his relationships would be very interesting, politically, economically and in other respects.
10. Is mainland Southeast Asia, as a whole, more peaceful in 2009 than it has been at almost any other time in history? Peaceful for whom? Ordinary people, the military or governments?
12. How important are ethnic Chinese business and political networks for the survival of the Burmese government? also see #3
19. To what extent do academics and journalists still self-censor to retain access to countries like Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma? And also ordinary citizens who are concerned and comment on Thai political blogs?
21. Who ordered the recent “hit” on People’s Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul? Also see #8
22.What impact does narcotic consumption have on the functioning of Burmese society? It would also (more?) interesting to study the impact on US or other societies of the attempts to suppress the trade!
23. Are the economic benefits of Thaksin-style “populism” greatly exaggerated? Or under-rated?
26. Does Thailand intentionally keep Burma unstable so that it can benefit from cheap labour? Or is it a live exercise for the Thai military to trial their strategies of repression and control?
29. Why has King Bhumibol seemingly failed to guarantee an orderly succession? See #8
30. Are Hun Sen and Thaksin close? When are businessmen close?
31. What names are on the Thai or Burmese immigration/entry “blacklists”? And how to discover before travelling?
32. How important is drug trafficking as an income source for members of the Thai elite? Good question!
33. Do the ramifications of the Vietnam War echo in the countries of Southeast Asia more than we realise? See #
34. Why do most voters in Thailand still need to return to their home province to cast a vote? Gerrymander against the rural workers?
41. Is Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn really as bad as people make out? Also see #8.
43. Why did so few people in Thailand condemn the 2003 “War on Drugs” at the time? Because they could see the good that was being achieved against opposition from “people of influence”. Its only later that the “people of influence manufactured the campaign against the “War on Drugs”. Also see #8.
47. In September 2006 was Thaksin plotting to maneuver his friends into top positions with the goal of sidelining the monarchy, and democracy, for good? Or was he trying to take control of the privy council and military apparatus to stop them spoiling the continuation of democracy? Also see #8.
8 david w // Jul 1, 2009 at 10:44 pm
These questions seem surprisingly narrow to me. Narrow in the sense of time frame as most focus on issues of the last few years or few decades. And narrow in the sense that most focus primarily on one nation. I would have imagined questions for the study of mainland southeast asia would be broadly regional in focus, broadly comparative in style, and broadly long-duree in scope.
9 Frank G Anderson // Jul 1, 2009 at 11:09 pm
1 July 2009
It is far too early to propose any real changes in individual countries, but the entire matter of lack of right to sovereignty when it comes to human rights violations, especially imprisonment, torture and murder, needs to be addressed in the near future on a global basis. No national leadership, whether head of state or head of government, has the right or the moral permission from God Almighty to forgive, bury evidence, pardon killers, rapists and torturers, just because of something now called national security.
This farce is an insult to all of humanity and has been fabricated by the jealous, self-serving people that we either vote into office or who promote their friends and relatives to.
On this basis, Takbai and before that, the Octobers Thailand has much to be ashamed of, will not be buried no matter what kind of callous or ill-advised forgiveness has come in the past.
10 Susie Wong // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:40 am
Frank, where were you when we were discussing about “Da Torpedo”?
What exactly is your agenda?
11 caroline haber // Jul 2, 2009 at 4:41 am
One response to number 11, the TOC for _A People’s History of Modern Thailand_ [although I am not sure where in the chapter lineup it should go ... or if it should possibly appear more than once ] should include a chapter entitled “Feudalism Resurgent”
12 Greg Lopez // Jul 2, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Friends, what about Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam?
I’m sure they matter too.
13 Nicholas Farrelly // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Thanks everyone,
I appreciate all of these thoughtful comments and accept the limitations of my list. Clearly it doesn’t have the historical depth, geographic scope or epistemological range that other lists may strive for.
New Mandala is, as I indicated above, very happy to publish further lists of Southeast Asia-related questions. I am particularly intrigued by the possibilities of a comparative, long-duree list of important questions still unanswered. Obviously I don’t feel qualified to put together such a list myself but I am very open to offers from anyone who does.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
14 jeplang // Jul 2, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Many very interesting questions.
7.I have often wondered why this is so.
32.A number of years ago I asked a Thai journalist if the names of the generals involved in the drug trade were known. The reply was “Yes,but they would never be published.”
One has to ask what has the Australian Federal Police been doing in Thailand over the past 20 years .I think the AFP have been working with the Royal Thai Police in combating drug trafficking [?] for about 20 years but the AFP have not outed one Thai general for being involved in the trade ,as far as I know.
36.Good question.
38.Another good question.A number of years ago I was surprised to learn that some PNG police were being trained in Israel.
41.Much worse, according to one Thai woman I know.
44.Probably one of the most important questions.Singapore needs be put well and truly in the spotlight .Or is that the hot seat?
46.Or,what is the role of the [expat] academic working…..?
Nothing on “Asian[Emperor Lee 's]values”?Just joking.
15 Rick Doner // Jul 3, 2009 at 1:55 am
Let me (belatedly) add a question that might relate to #34: Thailand’s informal economy seems to be quite large. How much of an obstacle to economic growth and political stability is this sector?
16 Colum Graham // Jul 3, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Hi, I’ve got a few mins waiting for an email while my net time runs down…
Is China a greater positive influence in the region than we tend to acknowledge?
Yes, what is positive tends to reflect a value judgment and to answer this, there must be acknowledgement values can change in individuals. For me, I think liberalism is encouraged with economic advancement and thus, irrespective of whatever supposedly rigid political systems are in place, China’s industrialisation promotes liberalism in Southeast Asia through stronger economic relationships. Political systems evolve with peoples values. That current elites in Southeast Asia control the fruit of these economic relationships is something for citizens in ASEAN countries to consider… Much the same as it is for citizens in China to consider regarding the CCP.
How many people are employed by Burma’s censorship apparatus?
Those who feel attached to the state of Myanmar and the present SPDC paradigm might be considered ‘employed’ to censorship. So how many feel attached to that paradigm?
Is mainland Southeast Asia, as a whole, more peaceful in 2009 than it has been at almost any other time in history?
I think the incriments for measuring peace and stability in Southeast Asia since the TAC must be really fine to say that 2009 is the most peaceful time. Perhaps not, regarding Preah Vihear (Or Wat Wiharn?) and Rohingya hot potato. You sort of answer this with your #26 question too.
Does Thailand intentionally keep Burma unstable so that it can benefit from cheap labour?
I saw plenty of cheap labour between Si Saket and Kantharalak yesterday. How much cheap labour does Thailand need?!
What ambitions do the Burmese generals harbour for acquiring nuclear weapons?
Regime guarantee. Can hardly say that India or China are guarantors of the Junta.
Why did so few people in Thailand condemn the 2003 “War on Drugs” at the time?
Because it’s easier to defend liberalism when your name is not likely to be sullied.
17 Colum Graham // Jul 3, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Just quickly, to expand on the questions I responded to before without thinking too much ..
Is greater economic status for Southeast Asian individuals, or a much expanded middle class, likely to provoke a change in political value? If this is the case, to what extent does China influence economic development in Southeast Asia?
I’m not saying China’s actions are benign (as is often the case when anyone presents a case for even distantly defending the CCP), or that Hanoi for instance, should have a giant starbucks next to a pumping stock exchange, with a low suicide rate amongst accountants being seen as a positive and noted in tabloids.. but siege politics does seem to inhibit patience…
On the other hand, is China’s two parties one country policy a good thing for a country like Thailand with the PAD preaching.. similar policies? ‘Good’ if we’re going to be all rigid about our own views…???
What influence do northerly Southeast Asian nations have over Southern China? Is it really all one way traffic?
Obviously since the signing of the TAC there have been huge incidents … but what I am getting at, with my short memory, is that sine 1995 when Myanmar and Cambodia signed up, the incidents, from what I can remember have been relatively few and therefore a seismic scale of Southeast Asian chaos could only be measured in small increments.
Surely Myanmar’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon would violate the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) which Myanmar is apparently a signatory – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asian_Nuclear-Weapon-Free_Zone_Treaty.. So clearly the Junta must be pursuing Nuclear -energy- for the elite in Yangon? Hm. How would the rest of the members of ASEAN react to Myanmar having ‘the bomb’.. and breaking the aforementioned treaty?
What sort of labour from Myanmar does Thailand use, and .. how exploitative is it? Is it rural labour like in Isan?
18 richard jackson // Jul 3, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Why is Laos not treated in the same way as Burma? (which by the way is exactly the question asked in a comment made by Mr. Roland on Haberkorn’s earlier piece – Haberkorn’s piece itself raises the question: having bombed the bejasus out of Laos for years and then spent far more resources looking for MIA remains than on easing the plight of Lao KAAs [Killed after Action], and having set one portion of the Hmong up as ‘defenders of democratic values’ and then abandoning them because the Americans weren’t officially in Laos at all, why do not American academics seem to have any sense of chutzpah when they take the stereotypical ‘one-party-state-dreadful-treatment-of Hmong- line’?) Back to the question. I am not familiar with the Burmese press. Until about two years ago I used to rather look forward to seeing the BKK Post arrive in Vientiane; wonderful contrast to the Vientiane Times I thought (probably because the Post has good cartoons). But on reflection, which do I prefer: a newspaper like the Post which flagrantly opposed the side in Thailand which has won the last few elections and fell over itself to try and portray the Yellows staging their economic coup at Suvarnabhumi as justified in doing so, or a paper that everyone knows is under government control but can publish – as it did July 1 – accounts of the intricacies of problems facing the police having to deal with foreign retailers or a statement by the Public Prosecutor General on a case in Luang Prabang which ‘he did not know about but, if it was true, it would mean the authorities had violated the law’? Do I go for a sham democracy where whenever things get tough the true nature of the game is revealed or a state where everyone knows the government is in control but where that control that appears to be loosening? I am not sure, but I lean to Laos on this one and feel that perhaps Nicholas’ question should be ‘Why isn’t Lao looked at in the same light as Thailand’ (rather than Myanmar)?
19 kyaw kyaw // Jul 3, 2009 at 5:59 pm
As Colum Graham pointed out, question #9 can be interpreted in several different ways.
If you’re referring to how many people work at the Press Scrutiny Registration Division (PSRD), which vets all journals before they go to print, then the number is about 100. Apparently it hasn’t risen for ages, even though the number of journals has perhaps tripled in the last three years.
20 Alex Stephens // Jul 13, 2009 at 6:29 pm
With regards to question 36, how well is the Khmer Rouge Period taught in schools, I can give you an idea.
You would say that up until recently, people had more family experience of the Khmer Rouge than what they were taught in schools. Given theat the Khmer Rouge stopped being a major political issue in 1998, it was dangerous to talk too openly about the role of communist Khmer in Cambodian society. There is also a reticence to actually be open about the period – retribution(for whatever reason) is still a common enough occurance in Cambodian society to make people wary of rocking the boat too much. My moto dop driver for 2 years was a former Royalist soldier on the Thai border, a fact that he wanted kept quiet (even from othermoto drivers). History is a living, breathing and potentially deadly art to become involved with even in modern Cambodia. maybe not as deadly as the roads, but dangerous enough.
The best example of educating young generations of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge was a book authored by Khamboly Dy of DC-Cam in 2007 (”A history of Democratic Kampuchea”) that was slowly being introduced to schools and the wider community. This book is a great, albeit cleansed, version of history that avoids big questions like: why did the Khmer Rouge have so much support among Khmer farmers?; why did Pol Pot act with such savagry against internal dissent?; why did Vietnam intervene in 1979 – was it because of Pol Pots genocide, or because of border intrusions? It has government support, but I don’t know how well the book has done in terms of reaching the desired audience.The book was rumoured to have been diluted so that former Khmer Rouge elements in the CPP government would not be embarrassed. Now, you may think the questions I raise above are peripheral, but the ongoing fact remains that even university students know less about Cambodian history than a tourist who reads one of the photocopied books about Cambodia on the shores of the Tonle Sap in Phnom Penh.
The recent resignation of Robert Petit, the chief UN prosecutor in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, also points to problems in relaying history to people. Under the agreement that set up the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, outreach programs were deavalued. Everyone I have had contact with around the tribunal says that is possibly the worst element of the tribunal, even worse than the corruption in the court. The tribunal was supposed to be an event that would help unearth buried truths and air them for everybody. That hasn’t happened, and thats a great shame becuase a large discussion about the past role of the Khmer Rouge and other revolutionaries within Cambodian history would have been a useful way of releasing tension within the khmer polity and other minorities (like the Cham and ethnic Vietnamese).
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