ABSTRACT
The decision to study Laotian immigrants requires a word of explanation. By reason of their cultural exoticness, Laotians provide a particularly good test case of the standard immigrant political analysis. The characteristic principles of the democratic ethos have not defined the essence of the Laotian political tradition, nor, have they been regarded as normative by the Laotian citizenry. Laotians would seem to be just the type of immigrants to challenge the American political consensus, thus undermine the democratic order; certainly they could not have learned many of the democratic virtues in the homeland. Given its traditionally prone political position, Laos afforded little resistance to European colonialists. Foreign interests continue to determine the political disposition of Laos. In the pre-colonial era, Laotian governments were monarchical in form, absolutist in theory, but typically decentralized in practice. Advised by a council of ministers drawn exclusively from those of noble birth, the king was recognized as the source of preponderant political power.
