ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 focuses on the period before and after Phibun became prime minister (1938–44). The purpose of this chapter is to define Phibun’s vision of national interest, which provides a foundation to analyse his subsequent foreign policy decisions. The chapter first examines how the traumatic experience from the nineteenth century could be a remnant of Thailand’s historical apprehension. It later reveals how Phibun’s organisation of the National Day celebration and his infamous socio-cultural engineering programmes reflected the premier’s constant ontological insecurity. The chapter argues that Phibun’s nationalist projects such as the promulgation of the State Conventions could be seen as an attempt to gain status and recognition from the Western powers. The aim of this chapter is to establish the grounds on which Phibun and his cohorts had always been anxious about Thailand’s status in international society.
