ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the temporal dimension using the notion of temporal trap in the Thai–Lao relations from 1954 to the present and it is divided into four sections. Firstly, the introduction gives the overall picture and signpost of the chapter. Secondly, it discusses the relations between the territorial and temporal traps. Thirdly, it examines how the temporal traps are portrayed with the analysis of the relations between Thailand and Laos which was still under the authority of the French Indochina. It looks at the colonial relations between Siam and French Indochina which provides the background of the current situation of the Thai–Lao relations. The fourth section examines the era of 1954–1975 as the practice of Westphalian border of Thailand and the Kingdom of Laos was not strictly observed. The elites of Thailand, Laos, and the United States monopolised the foreign policy and decided how space of the states should have been practised. The Thai state at that time allowed the US forces to be stationed in its northeastern provinces (Kesboonchoo Mead, 2007). The Westphalian notion was temporarily set aside as the elites of both states were in agreement. Meanwhile, the United States had to operate secret wars in Laos because the Westphalian space of the state was chosen to be practised (Phillips, 2017). The fifth section analyses the time of 1975–1989 as the Lao state became a communist state. As the Thai–Lao border was interpreted as the line that divides two worlds under two different superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union (Paribatra, 1984), this section analyses how the texts in International Relations are caught with temporal trap. Finally, this chapter discusses the Thai–Lao relations from 1989 to the present day and then the chapter is concluded.
