ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book explains how Thais view their long and turbulent alliance relationship with the United States, against their broader set of international relationships, and against the more complex backdrop of international politics in the twenty-first century. It examines Thai collective memory and its implications for both its own national identity, its perception of its alliance partner the United States, other Great Powers, neighbouring countries and ASEAN. The book explains the hedging stance of one Southeast Asia state, Thailand, through the lens of collective memory. It takes as its starting premise that Thailand’s current alliance with the United States, no less than its growing relationship with China, hangs in an uneasy balance that combines memory of the past relations with these giants as well as expectations about the future path of both.
