A History of Thailand

by Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit

Overview

In A History of Thailand, Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit reveal how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree labour evolved into a rural society of smallholder peasants and an urban society populated mainly by migrants from southern China. They trace how a Buddhist cosmography adapted to new ideas of time and space, and a traditional polity was transformed into a new nation-state under a strengthened monarchy.

The authors cover the contests between urban nationalists, ambitious generals, communist rebels, business politicians and social movements to control the nation-state and redefine its purpose. They describe the dramatic changes wrought by a booming economy, globalization, and the evolution of mass society. Finally, the show how Thailand's path is still being contested by those who believe in change from above and those who fight for democracy and liberal values.

Drawing on new Thai-language research, this second edition brings the Thai story up to date and includes a new section on the 2006 coup and the restoration of an elected government in 2008.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107385528
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/14/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Chris Baker has taught Asian history at the University of Cambridge and has lived in Thailand for over thirty years. He is now an independent writer, researcher and translator.

Pasuk Phongpaichit is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. She has written widely in Thai and English on the Thai economy, sex industry, corruption, illegal economy and inequality.

Table of Contents

Illustrations vi

Preface viii

Abbreviations x

Glossary xi

Chronology xv

1 Before Bangkok 1

2 The old order in transition, 1760s to 1860s 26

3 Reforms, 1850s to 1910s 47

4 Peasants, merchants, and officials, 1870s to 1930s 81

5 Nationalisms, 1910s to 1940s 105

6 The American era and development, 1940s to 1960s 140

7 Ideologies, 1940s to 1970s 168

8 Globalization and mass society, 1970s onwards 199

9 Politics, 1970s onwards 233

Postscript: the strong state and the well-being of the people 276

Notes 297

Reigns and prime ministers 292

Glossary of names 294

Readings 303

Index 308

Editorial Reviews

'As the most conceptual study of thailand yet it reaches a new level of sophistication.' BBC History Magazine

'Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit cover this ground with secure jusgement and great insight.' The Times Literary Supplement

'In A History of Thailand, Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit, two respected Bangkok-based scholars, offer a lively, highly readable account of modern Thai history, the first such history in English for two decades.' Financial Times

'[This book] is the first attempt in English to write a history of this country in the modern sense of 'history' … This book is essential reading for anyone seriously interest in Thailand: how it came about; its present strengths and weaknesses; and its potential in the future of a very unstable world.' Journal of the Siam Society

'… an engaging and factually rich introduction to the history of modern Thailand.' South East Asia Research

'This is the first new history of Thailand for two decades, written by a husband and wife team who have already written a number of books on contemporary Thailand. Their challenge was to marshal coherently a deal of complicated and unfamiliar material.' Asian Affairs

From the Publisher