Title: Thailand’s Northeast: Aspects of the Transition to Thai Control
Speakers: Dr. Porphant Ouyyanont, ISEAS Visiting Senior Fellow and Associate
Professor of Economics at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand

Date: August 4th (Tues.), 2015 14:30-16:00
Place: Tonan-tei Room No. 201, Inamori Foundation Memorial Building, CSEAS, Kyoto University

Abstract:
The upheavals and divisions that occurred in Thailand during the first years of the present century came as a shock to many Thais. An aspect of the shock was the appearance of regional divisions, especially between the Northeast, or Isan, with its strong support for Thaksin and pro-Thaksin political parties, and Bangkok-centred , anti- Thaksin, pro-elite supporters. For many years the prevailing narrative of “Thai-ness” had been of a cohesive and unified nation. Thus explanations for the recent divisions were often expressed simplistically and unhelpfully as emanating from a confused and ignorant northeastern peasantry, unprepared for true democracy.
This paper looks in a longer perspective at northeastern identity. It emphasizes the relatively recent absorption of the area into the Thai polity. Until the end of the nineteenth century Isan, predominantly of Lao ethnicity, with a separate history, culture, language, and traditions, had remained largely outside direct Thai influence and control. This separate history had evolved over several hundred years, and has produced a distinct Isan identity. The paper discusses the various phases in the establishment of an ethnic Lao population in the northeast and the growth of Thai control. Recent divisions in Thailand can be viewed usefully in this longer perspective.

About the speaker:
Porphant Ouyyanont is ISEAS Visiting Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Economics at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. He obtained his doctorate in economic history from the University of New England, Australia, and has been a visiting researcher at Kyoto University Center for Southeast Asian Studies. His publication and research interests include the economic history of Bangkok and Thailand, village economy. The Crown Property Bureau in Thailand and its investment role. His works include “The Village Economy in the Central Region of Thailand” (Bangkok: Vitheethud, 2003), “The Thai Economy during the Seventh Reign” (Bangkok: Kobfai Press) , “The Crown Property Bureau in Thailand and the Crisis of 1997” (Journal of Contemporary Asia, 38(1) February, 2008) (This paper was also selected as a runner-up to the winning essay for the Journal of Contemporary Asia Prize of 2009), “Underdevelopment and Industrialization in Pre-War Thailand” (Australian Economic History Review 52(1), 2012). “The Vietnam War and Tourism in Bangkok’s Development, 1960-1970,” (Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 39(2), 2001), “The Foundation of the Siam Commercial Bank and the Siam Cement Company: Historical Context and Alternative Historiographies” ( SOJOURN, Vol. 30 (2),2015) His forthcoming book is “A Regional Thai Economic History” (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press).

Moderator: Pavin Chachavalpongpun, CSEAS, Kyoto University