Title The crown and the capitalists : the ethnic Chinese and the founding of the Thai nation / Wasana Wongsurawat

Published Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2019]

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 201 pages) Series Critical dialogues in Southeast Asian studies Critical dialogues in Southeast Asian studies. Contents Educating citizens : building a nation -- Publishing nations : the media and elite propaganda -- Economic Thai-ification : dismantling the crown and the capitalists -- The Great East Asia War : questioning and redefining the Thai nationalist narrative -- The Cold War : the return of royalist politics in the postwar territorial nation Summary "Despite competing with much larger imperialist neighbors in Southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Thailand--or Siam, as it was formerly known--has succeeded in transforming itself into a rival modern nation-state over the last two centuries. Recent historiography has placed progress--or lack thereof--toward Western-style liberal democracy at the center of Thailand's narrative, but that view underestimates the importance of the colonial context. In particular, a long-standing relationship with China and the existence of a large and important Chinese diaspora within Thailand have shaped development at every stage. As the emerging nation struggled against colonial forces in Southeast Asia, ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs were neither a colonial force against whom Thainess was identified, nor had they been able to fully assimilate into Thai society. Wasana Wongsurawat demonstrates that the Kingdom of Thailand's transformation into a modern nation-state required the creation of a national identity that justified not only the hegemonic rule of monarchy but also the involvement of the ethnic Chinese entrepreneurial class upon whom it depended. Her revisionist view traces the evolution of this codependent relationship through the twentieth century, as Thailand struggled against colonial forces in Southeast Asia, found itself an ally of Japan in World War II, and reconsidered its relationship with China in the postwar era"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on November 27, 2019) Subject Chinese -- Thailand -- History Chinese -- Commerce -- Thailand Nationalism -- Thailand -- History HISTORY -- Asia -- Southeast Asia. Politics and government International relations Chinese Chinese -- Commerce Nationalism SUBJECT Thailand -- History -- 19th century Thailand -- History -- 20th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85134448 Thailand -- Politics and government. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh86002109 Thailand -- Relations -- China China -- Relations -- Thailand Subject China Thailand Genre/Form Electronic books History Form Electronic book LC no. 2019018683 ISBN 0295746262 9780295746265

Other Titles Ethnic Chinese and the founding of the Thai nation

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