Montesano On Thailand In April 2009

[churchill]

Michael J. Montesano, from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, has written an analysis of the April 2009 political showdown in Thailand. It was just published in Contemporary Southeast Asia and is available here. Towards the end of the article, Montesano offers some important comparative reflections. That section begins:

"Thailand and many scholars of Thailand have long resisted comparative perspectives on that history. The latter have squandered the potential of those perspectives to serve as the bases for a reconceptualization of Thai history. For adoption of comparative perspectives would challenge the myths — along with some fairy tales — of uniqueness whose invocation has long served as national placebo, obviating clear-eyed diagnosis of national pathologies."

The full article is, of course, well worth a look for anyone hoping to understand Thailand’s recent political history.

http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/20...comment-page-1/