ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the nationalism in relation to Thailand as a nation state. It describes the nationalistic policy of Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram and deals with the nationalistic feelings of a group of local leaders, whose views were derived from a field survey conducted in late 1984. The argument posited is simply that nationalism is different from ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism implies a sense of superiority of one ethnic group over others, whereas nationalism denotes a high degree of national consciousness by exalting one's own nation other nations. In the case of Thailand, modern nationalism was non-existent until the campaign of King Rama VI, who tried to instil into the Thai a sense of nationalistic feeling with anti-Chinese sentiments as the stimulant. For lack of a better word, the term 'social' nationalism is used to denote a policy to create a Thai nation characterised by people with an education, good ethics and civilised manners.
