ABSTRACT
By 1915 the administrative centralization of the Thai state was complete, and the national boundaries which exist to this day had been established. This chapter analyzes the politics of regional management: the historical exchange relationships between Bangkok and each of Thailand’s peripheral regions in the second and third “periods” of Thai modernization. The ‘Northeast problem’ was redefined in Thai ruling circles from having been one of minor provincial complaints to one of potential danger to the continued existence of the government and of Thailand itself. This policy shift seemed predicated upon a combination of factors, especially regional underdevelopment, a growing regional identity, and wars in Laos and Viet Nam. These instilled in the decision-makers the fear that, if awareness of exploitation fuels resistance, then the Northeast was fertile ground for insurgency and separatist movements. A continuation and intensification of the early parasitism is precisely what is found in Bangkok’s subsequent treatment of the Northeast during the parliamentary period.
