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From Politics to Economics at the Thai–Cambodian Border: Plus Ça Change...

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Abstract

This paper looks at border relations between Thais and Cambodians over the last thirty years, in the context of the developing Thai polity and economy. It considers the salience of both ethnicity and nationality in shaping Thai interactions with Khmers. It suggests that as the threat of violent regional conflict diminished, the shared border came to represent important economic opportunities for both Thais and Cambodians. However, rhetorics of “national interest” and “regional development” notwithstanding, the beneficiaries of this transnational trade are neither nation nor state, but specific interest groups working through the structures of government and military on both sides of the border.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rhode Island School of Design, 2 College Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 02903

    Lindsay French

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  1. Lindsay French
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French, L. From Politics to Economics at the Thai–Cambodian Border: Plus Ça Change.... International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 15, 427–470 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014028510016

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