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8yrofessorkaslan1e[aplra
laculLyofollucalSclence,1hammasaLunlverslLy
8evlewof8enedlcL8.C'C.Anderson,LxplorauonandlronylnSLudlesofSlamoverlorLy?ears(lLhaca,
new?ork:SouLheasLAslarogram,CornellunlverslLy,2014).166pages.
Pelpfully complled and arranged boLh chronologlcally and Lhemaucally ln one volume, Lhe
varlous essays, arucles and revlews LhaL make up Lhls book reecL Lhe wonderful skepuclsm, relenLless
quesuonlng,darlnglconoclasm,conLrarlanperspecuve,crlucallnLelllgence,peneLraunglnslghL,mordanL
humour,wlde-ranglngandln-depLhknowledgeofLhecounLry,lLspeopleandbeyond,andaboveall,Lhe
Lender and deeply-felL love and care whlch rofessor 8en Anderson, Lhe world-renowned doyen of
nauonallsm and SouLheasL Aslan SLudles aL Cornell unlverslLy, has conslsLenLly broughL Lo Lhe sLudy of
Slam/1halland over Lhe pasL forLy years. Llke Iotokbe kbwooq kblooq or a crocodlle who blocks Lhe
canal(andLherebyobsLrucungLhesmooLhowofLhecanalLramc)lnaLradluonal1halsaylng,Lhlsbody
of hls work was lndeed wldely recognlsed as a paradlgmauc waLershed ln 1hal sLudles LhaL has alLered
andshledLhehlLherLodomlnanL,conservauve,ellusL,sLaLe-cenLrlc,royal-nauonallsLmalnsLreamLoan
lnundauonofrevlslonlsLcounLer-sLreamsandsub-sLreamsslnceLhe1990s.
l rsL encounLered kbtoo 8eo (or 1eacher 8en as he llkes Lo be called)'s paLh-breaklng, semlnal
llLeraLure revlew essay 5toJles of tbe 1bol 5tote. 1be 5tote of 1bol 5toJles (rsL publlshed ln 1978,
ChapLer 1 of Lhls volume) shorLly aer l le Lhe communlsL-led mopols ln norLheasLern 1halland ln Lhe
early 1980s when l was asked Lo LranslaLe lL lnLo 1hal by Lhe edlLor of lojotoyosoo Magazlne, an
lndependenL lnLellecLual perlodlcal under Lhe paLronage of Sulak Slvaraksa, a well-known conservauve
8uddhlsLlnLellecLualwhohappenedLobeoneofLheLwocommenLaLorsofLhlsessaywhenlLwasrsL
publlcly presenLed. Sull fresh from Lhe [ungle and bllnkered by Lhe rlgld MaolsL ldeologlcal frame of
reference,lcouldhardlyfaLhomLheground-shaklnglmpacLoflLsmessage,whlchauempLedLooverhaul
lo totoLheaxlomaucfoundauonsof1halsLudlesaspracucedupullLhenbyboLhWesLernscholarsand
Lhelr1halomclalnauonallsLcounLerparLs.ArgueddeanLly,sysLemaucally,solldlyandmeuculously,Lhe
revlewessayconLalns8en'scenLralrevlslonlsLvlslonofmodern1halhlsLoryLhaLhasprovenLobemosL
LhoughL-provoklng,sLoodLheLesLofume,andrenderedlLanlndlspensablelLemlnanyserlousreadlng
llsL on modern 1hal pollucs ln Lhe pasL four decades. 1hls cenLral vlslon was subsequenLly expanded
uponanddevelopedfurLherlnoLherwrlungsofhlsalsolncludedlnLhlsvolume.LeLmelaylLouLpolnL-
by-polnLhereasbrleyandsucclncLlyaslcanforLhereaders'beneL.
kaslan1e[aplra:8evlewof8enAnderson'sLxplorauonandlrony
2
1) ln order Lo properly undersLand Lhe essence and Lra[ecLory of modern 1hal hlsLory, lL ls
lmperauve Lo concepLually separaLe Lhe 1hal nauon from lLs monarchy. noL only are Lhe Lwo non-
ldenucalandhavedlerenLlnLeresLs,buLlnmanycasesLhelrlnLeresLsalsoclash.(p.21)
2) 1hesLaLebullLbyLhe!akrldynasLydurlngLherelgnsofklng8amavLovll(A.u.1868-1933)
wasbynomeansamodernnauon-sLaLebuLanabsoluusLdynasucauLo-colonlaloneLhaLcarrledouL
modernlsauon ln some aspecLs Lo a cerLaln degree buL delayed and/or obsLrucLed lL ln oLhers,
parucularly Lhose LhaL were relaLed Lo Lhe vesLed lnLeresL and posluon of Lhe monarchy lLself.
Pence, Lhe rlse of Lhe Slamese absoluusL sLaLe dld noL amounL Lo Lhe successful bulldlng of a
modern nauon-sLaLe. Cn Lhe conLrary, lL hlndered Lhe lauer alongslde Lhe comlng of Slamese
nauonhood.(p.28,34)
3) ln conLrasL wlLh ersLwhlle Luropean absoluusL sLaLes, Lhe Slamese one was Loo shorL-llved
(lasungabouL40yearsfrom1892-1932),andLhereachandeecLsoflLspowerwereLooshallow.
SlncelLhadnoLLransformed1halsocleLyandeconomywldelyandprofoundlyenough,Lhepollucal
reacuon LhaL nally came abouL ln Lhe form of a consuLuuonallsL puLsch, sLaged by Lhe self-sLyled
eople'sarLyof[unlormlllLaryomcersandgovernmenLomclals,wasmerelytbe potuol, mysufeJ
tevolt.of obsolousms owo eoqloe, tbe foocuooollseJ boteooctocy, (p. 39) wlLh very llmlLed
dynamlcforrevoluuonarychange. lLfellfarshorLofarealpopularrevoluuon,wlLhonlysuperclal
andlnLermluenLmassmoblllsauonandparuclpauon,whollylnadequaLeforaradlcaloverhaulofLhe
1halsLaLeandsocleLy.(pp.39-40)
4) 1he varlous well-known sympLoms of pollucal and admlnlsLrauve malalse of Lhe 1hal
bureaucraucpollLy(alaLhelaLelredW.8lggslnhls1halland:1heModernlzauonofa8ureaucrauc
ollLy, 1966), namely chronlc pollucal lnsLablllLy, lnemclency, lack of coordlnauon, corrupuon,
favourlusm,facuonallsm,formallsm,unresponslvenessLoexLra-bureaucrauc/populardemands,eLc.,
resulLed from Lhe proLracLed, laggard and lncompleLe Lransluon from Lhe noL compleLely exuncL
absoluusLsLaLeLoLheo-aborLed,sullbornpopularnauon-sLaLe.(p.40)
3) 1he1halbureaucraucpollLywasslmllarLoLheoldabsoluusLsLaLelnLhesenseLhaL,devold
ofpopularrepresenLauonandpollucalaccounLablllLy,lLalsoLendedLobeamol-sLaLel.e.servlngLhe
lnLeresLs of Lhe sLaLe and lLs bureaucrauc rulers Lhemselves. And yeL, wlLh Lhe supposedly dlvlne
absoluLe monarchs lrreverslbly replaced by usually profane commoner mlllLary sLrongmen-cum-
bureaucraLs, Lhe bureaucrauc pollLy faLally lacked Lhe Lradluonal supernaLural/sacred leglumacy of
Lheoocleo teqlme. unableLoavallLhemselvesofLhelegal-rauonalleglumacyofamodernelecuve
kaslan1e[aplra:8evlewof8enAnderson'sLxplorauonandlrony
3
democracywblcb cottespooJs to tbe focts of e[ecuve coottol(LoquoLe8lggs)elLher,LhemlllLary-
bureaucraucellLehadnocholcebuLsoughLasymbloucmoJos vlveoJl wlLhLhesurvlvlngmonarchy
ln whlch Lhe lauer served as Lhe nauonal palladlum LhaL lenL royal-nauonallsL leglumacy Lo Lhe
former ln exchange for armed proLecuon of lLs securlLy, unLouchable sLaLus, ldeologlcal hegemony
andmaLerlallnLeresLs.(pp.67-69)
6) Pence a frequenL and faclle lapse of Lhe 1hal bureaucrauc pollLy lnLo mlllLary absoluusL
dlcLaLorshlp such as Lhe one under lleld Marshal SarlL-1hanom-raparL from 1938 Lo 1973 whlch
wasdulyblessedbyLheroyalpalladlum. AndwlLhLheplenufulmlllLaryandeconomlcald,supporL
and lnvesLmenL of Lhe u.S. and lLs anu-communlsL allles, plus Lhe LechnocraL-planned and dlrecLed
markeL-led soclo-economlc developmenL, Lhe sald mlllLary absoluusL dlcLaLorshlp had lndeed
achlevedwhaLLhe!akrlabsoluLemonarchyofyorefalledLodol.e.arapld,exLenslveandprofound
wholesale Lransformauon of Lhe 1hal economy and socleLy ln less Lhan Lwo decades. MosL
slgnlcanLly were Lhe conunulng mlgrauon of mllllons upon mllllons of poor and landless peasanLs
lnLo8angkokandoLherreglonalurbancenLreslnsearchofwork,furLhereducauonandabeuerllfe
LogeLherwlLhLherlseand/orhugeexpanslonofvarlousbourgeolssLraLalnLheclLyandcounLryslde.
WhenlLnallyemergedlnCcLober1973,LhepollucalreacuonLoLhesLagnanL,corrupL,unchanglng
and lnLranslgenL mlllLary reglme Look Lhe form of an unprecedenLed, largely sponLaneous, mass
uprlslng of half a mllllon sLudenL-led demonsLraLors ln downLown 8angkok, whlch 8en memorably
called 5loms 1789 (p. 107). lL opened Lhe way Lo Lhe rlse of 1halland's rsL popular nauonallsL
movemenL.(pp.47-76)
7) lfonelooksaLlLLhroughLheopucofLhepollucalrlseofLhe1halbourgeolsle,Lhe1970sand
1980s wlLnessed Lhe gradual and cumulauve consolldauon of bourgeols pollucal power Lhrough an
elecuveparllamenLamldsLLhedecllneandnalcollapseofLheradlcalpopularmovemenLledbyLhe
communlsL armed rural lnsurgency on Lhe one hand, and Lhe Lermlnal decay of bureaucrauc pollLy
along wlLh Lhe evenLual reLreaL back Lo Lhe barracks of Lhe mlllLary on Lhe oLher. lronlcally, no
mauerhowcorrupLandmurderouslLwas,LheprogressofbourgeolsparllamenLaryreglmebecame
anlnevlLableLrendLhaLaLlonglasLwasLurnlngLhepageLoanewchapLerof1halpollucalhlsLory,or
solLseemedespeclallyaeranoLhersuccessfulpopularuprlslngagalnsLmlllLarydlcLaLorshlplnMay
1992.(pp.101-27)
lL ls Lhe above-synopslsed cenLral vlslon of 8en as conLalned ln Lhls book LhaL has lnsplred,
framed and deeply lnuenced varlous subsequenL landmarks ln 1hal sLudles ln Lhe pasL four decades,
ranglng from ur. Seksan raserLkul's MarxlsL-revlslonlsL works on Lhe economlc dependency of Lhe
kaslan1e[aplra:8evlewof8enAnderson'sLxplorauonandlrony
4
Slamese absoluusL dynasuc sLaLe and Lhe anu-WesLern sLance of Lhe local lmmlgranL Chlnese
enLrepreneurs, and Lhe currenL crlsls of Lhe 1hal nauon-sLaLe under economlc globallsauon, rofessor
1hongchal Wlnlchakul's ploneerlng works on Lhe mapplng of Slam and Lhe rlse and developmenL of
royal-nauonallsm,LorofessornldhlAeusrlvongse'sworksonLheSlameseabsoluusLsLaLeandLhe1hal
omclallmaglnedcommunlLy,forlnsLance.
AndyeL,asLhepubllcauondaLesofhlswrlungslnLhlsbooklndlcaLe,LherewasalonghlaLusof
18 years (from 1993 Lo 2011) durlng whlch 8en, havlng reured from acuve Leachlng aL Cornell wlLh no
new1halsLudenLsunderhlssupervlslonandengagedlnoLherpro[ecLsonposL-SuharLolndonesla,global
anarchlsm, nauonallsms ln Lhe LasL, eLc., had noL publlshed any serlous work LhaL focuses on 1hal
pollucs and hlsLory pet se. 8esldes, lL was a perlod ln whlch Lremendous, far-reachlng changes had
happened Lo Lhe counLry, namely, Lhe apogee and decllne of royal hegemony and Lhe neLwork
monarchy,Lheso-called1omyomkooqLasLAslaneconomlccrlslsof1997,LheemergenceofLhemlddle-
lncome peasanL, nauonal ma[orlLy elecLoraLe and local pollucal socleLy ln Lhe counLryslde, Lhe rlse and
fall of Lhe mulu-bllllonalre 1haksln ShlnawaLra's elecLed caplLallsL auLhorlLarlan reglme from 2001 Lo
2006, Lhe resumpuon of feroclous Musllm secesslonlsL lnsurgency ln Lhe deep SouLh slnce 2004, Lhe
mlllLary coup of 2006, and a serles of alLernaLe vlolenL mass moblllsauons and revolLs agalnsL Lhe
exlsung governmenLs - Lhe so-called coloot wots beLween Lhe anu-1haksln royallsL ?ellow ShlrLs and
Lhe pro-1haksln democrauc 8ed ShlrLs - LhaL has o-umes rendered Lhe counLry almosL ungovernable,
cosLoverahundreddeaLhsandLhousandsofln[urlessofar,andremalnedlnLracLablelfdormanLullLhe
presenL. 1hese new developmenLs, somewhaL beyond Lhe scope of 8en's cenLral vlslon, have been
eecuvelyandlllumlnaunglydealLwlLhbysuchrecenLlmporLanLworksasasukhongpalchlLandChrls
8aker's1haksln(2004),uuncanMcCargo'sNetwotk moootcby ooJ leqlumocy ctlses lo 1bollooJ(2003),
aulM.Pandley's1heklngneverSmlles:A8lographyof1halland's8humlbolAdulyade[(2006),Chanlda
ChlLbundld's 1he 8oyally-lnluaLed ro[ecLs: 1he Maklng of 8oyal Pegemony under Pls Ma[esLy Lhe klng
(ln 1hal, 2007), uuncan McCargo's 1earlng AparL Lhe Land: lslam and Leglumacy ln SouLhern 1halland
(2009), Andrew Walker's 1halland's ollucal easanLs: ower ln Lhe Modern 8ural Lconomy (2012),
eople lnformauon CenLer's 1ruLh for !usuce: 1he Aprll-May 2010 Crackdown (ln 1hal, 2012), ra[ak
kongklrau's 8osses, 8ollets ooJ 8ollots. lectotol vloleoce ooJ uemoctocy lo 1bollooJ, 1975 -
2011 (unpubllsheddlsserLauon,2013),andAplchaLSauLnlramal,?ukuMukdawl[lLra,nluawakapan,et
ol,8e-examlnlngLheollucalLandscapeof1halland(ln1hal,2013).
8en's lnLellecLual reLurn Lo 1halland (ChapLer 6 - 9 of Lhe book) focuses lnsLead on Lhe
conLemporary culLural and arusuc scene, provldlng subLle and sensluve, learned and comparauve,
kaslan1e[aplra:8evlewof8enAnderson'sLxplorauonandlrony
3
lnclslveandeye-openlngcrlucalanalysesnoLonlyofLhewonderfulworksofsuchworld-renowned1hal
lmdlrecLorsasAplchaLpongWeeraseLhakulandAnochaSuwlchakornpong,buLmorelmporLanLlyofLhe
currenL culLural pollucal menLallLy of Lhe domlnanL largely Slno-1hal urban bourgeolsle, who, belng
culLurallyandeLhnlcallyremovedandlsolaLedfromboLhLhelrruralfellowcounLrymenandLheWesLern
lnLelllgenLsla,arebllndlyfollowlngandaplngLhewlLheredocLo-&-nonagenarlannon-ma[orlLarlanroyal-
nauonallsL mlllLary-bureaucrauc ellLe. lL ls only wlLh Lhese lnslghLs lnLo Lhe consclousness of Lhls class
LhaLonecanbeglnLoundersLandLhelaLesL,13LhmlllLarycoupofLhecounLryearllerLhlsyearandwhaL
fuLuremaylleaheadforreLro[ecLed1halnessand1halland.
kaslan1e[aplra:8evlewof8enAnderson'sLxplorauonandlrony