東華大學圖書館 |

Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach.

紀錄類型:	書目-電子資源 : Monograph/item
正題名/作者:	Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach./
作者:	Wolfson-Ford, Ryan.
出版者:	Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, : 2018,
面頁冊數:	589 p.
附註:	Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-06, Section: A.
Contained By:	Dissertations Abstracts International82-06A.
標題:	Asian history. -
電子資源:	https://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=10822338
ISBN:	9798698589327

Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach.
Wolfson-Ford, Ryan.

Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach. - Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2018 - 589 p.

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-06, Section: A.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2018.

This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.

This dissertation presents a revisionist history of the Royal Lao Government (RLG) that seeks to reclaim Lao agency during a pivotal era in modern history. The Lao elite of the RLG were not merely instruments of foreign powers, but had their own set of complex motivations, rationales, and beliefs which shaped their thoughts and actions in a difficult period in Lao history. To fully understand the RLG one must take account of these important actors. One must also take domestic politics seriously. Finally, this study aims to contextualize key political movements which emerged in the RLG period to show these were not isolated groups, but were rooted in and a part of wider trends in society.This dissertation argues that democracy and anti-communism were central to the RLG. It locates the indigenous roots of both in the 1945 independence movement which emerged at the end of World War II, the Lao Issara. It then turns to a consideration of new elites who formed the Committee for Defense of National Interests (CDIN). The CDIN not only fundamentally altered democracy and anti-communism in the RLG, but also played a central role in the origins of the Second Indochina War in Laos. Finally, after 1962 it was the neutralists under Souvanna Phouma who took a leading role in the conduct of the war and the search for peace. While Souvanna Phouma is most often remembered as the champion of the neutralization cause of the 1950s he played a central role in all aspects of the war, including the US bombing campaign that devastated the country. Thus the Second Indochina War was a Lao war that the RLG elite fought to save the country from foreign invasion and defend the democracy they had built since 1945. This study thereby seeks to rehabilitate the Issara, the CDIN, the neutralists after 1962 as well as the rightwing more generally in the history of the RLG. These movements were fundamentally important, although misunderstood, actors of the period.This dissertation focuses on how cultural and intellectual trends influenced politics throughout the RLG period. The hypothesis elaborated in this dissertation is that there was an "RLG ideology" that was subscribed to by the elite of the civilian government and military. This ideology consisted of a belief in a Lao race that must be modern and foundational values of anti-communism and democracy. To study this ideology, I examine central themes in the RLG period including anti-communism, democracy, modernity, neutralism and post-colonial nationalism. Finally, by 1975 there were major forces within RLG society itself that supported the revolutionary overthrow of the government. These new elites coalesced around a coterie of young government civil servants and former Mittasone members to form a new political party, the Movement for the New Way, that played a leading role in the downfall of the RLG. Those who supported the revolution rejected the racialist regime in favor of a cosmopolitan tolerance of ethnic minorities touted by the Pathet Lao. Those sympathietic of the revolution also rejected close ties with the US in favor of peaceful coexistence with China and North Vietnam. Finally, they rejected anti-communism for neutralism. Yet behind each major social change of the RLG period there was a deeper generational conflict, which emerged in the late 1940s, late 1950s and early 1970s.This study above all attempts to write the history of the RLG on its own terms from the silenced voices of an anti-communist and democratic Lao past. Due to the nature of the sources available, this research necessarily privileges the perspective of the Lao elite, who were most prolific in authoring texts, thus leaving an important, though largely ignored, written record of the time. More importantly the Lao elite played a leading role in RLG history, which has been neglected in studies of the period, which prefer to focus almost exclusively on the US or France. One cannot fully understand the RLG without careful consideration of the elite. The West missed several important opportunities to collaborate closer with the elite that undermined the only anti-communist democracy in the history of the country.

ISBN: 9798698589327Subjects--Topical Terms:

1099323
Asian history.
Subjects--Index Terms:

Anti-communism

Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach.
LDR:05691nmm a2200517 4500 001 2281342
005 20210920102940.5
008 220723s2018 ||||||||||||||||| ||eng d
020 $a 9798698589327
035 $a (MiAaPQ)AAI10822338
035 $a AAI10822338
040 $a MiAaPQ $c MiAaPQ
100 1 $a Wolfson-Ford, Ryan. $3 3559926
245 1 0 $a Ideology in the Royal Lao Government-Era (1945-1975): A Thematic Approach.
260 1 $a Ann Arbor : $b ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, $c 2018
300 $a 589 p.
500 $a Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-06, Section: A.
500 $a Advisor: McCoy, Alfred W.
502 $a Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2018.
506 $a This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
506 $a This item must not be added to any third party search indexes.
520 $a This dissertation presents a revisionist history of the Royal Lao Government (RLG) that seeks to reclaim Lao agency during a pivotal era in modern history. The Lao elite of the RLG were not merely instruments of foreign powers, but had their own set of complex motivations, rationales, and beliefs which shaped their thoughts and actions in a difficult period in Lao history. To fully understand the RLG one must take account of these important actors. One must also take domestic politics seriously. Finally, this study aims to contextualize key political movements which emerged in the RLG period to show these were not isolated groups, but were rooted in and a part of wider trends in society.This dissertation argues that democracy and anti-communism were central to the RLG. It locates the indigenous roots of both in the 1945 independence movement which emerged at the end of World War II, the Lao Issara. It then turns to a consideration of new elites who formed the Committee for Defense of National Interests (CDIN). The CDIN not only fundamentally altered democracy and anti-communism in the RLG, but also played a central role in the origins of the Second Indochina War in Laos. Finally, after 1962 it was the neutralists under Souvanna Phouma who took a leading role in the conduct of the war and the search for peace. While Souvanna Phouma is most often remembered as the champion of the neutralization cause of the 1950s he played a central role in all aspects of the war, including the US bombing campaign that devastated the country. Thus the Second Indochina War was a Lao war that the RLG elite fought to save the country from foreign invasion and defend the democracy they had built since 1945. This study thereby seeks to rehabilitate the Issara, the CDIN, the neutralists after 1962 as well as the rightwing more generally in the history of the RLG. These movements were fundamentally important, although misunderstood, actors of the period.This dissertation focuses on how cultural and intellectual trends influenced politics throughout the RLG period. The hypothesis elaborated in this dissertation is that there was an "RLG ideology" that was subscribed to by the elite of the civilian government and military. This ideology consisted of a belief in a Lao race that must be modern and foundational values of anti-communism and democracy. To study this ideology, I examine central themes in the RLG period including anti-communism, democracy, modernity, neutralism and post-colonial nationalism. Finally, by 1975 there were major forces within RLG society itself that supported the revolutionary overthrow of the government. These new elites coalesced around a coterie of young government civil servants and former Mittasone members to form a new political party, the Movement for the New Way, that played a leading role in the downfall of the RLG. Those who supported the revolution rejected the racialist regime in favor of a cosmopolitan tolerance of ethnic minorities touted by the Pathet Lao. Those sympathietic of the revolution also rejected close ties with the US in favor of peaceful coexistence with China and North Vietnam. Finally, they rejected anti-communism for neutralism. Yet behind each major social change of the RLG period there was a deeper generational conflict, which emerged in the late 1940s, late 1950s and early 1970s.This study above all attempts to write the history of the RLG on its own terms from the silenced voices of an anti-communist and democratic Lao past. Due to the nature of the sources available, this research necessarily privileges the perspective of the Lao elite, who were most prolific in authoring texts, thus leaving an important, though largely ignored, written record of the time. More importantly the Lao elite played a leading role in RLG history, which has been neglected in studies of the period, which prefer to focus almost exclusively on the US or France. One cannot fully understand the RLG without careful consideration of the elite. The West missed several important opportunities to collaborate closer with the elite that undermined the only anti-communist democracy in the history of the country.
590 $a School code: 0262.
650 4 $a Asian history. $2 bicssc $3 1099323
650 4 $a Southeast Asian studies. $3 3344898
650 4 $a History. $3 516518
650 4 $a American history. $3 2122692
650 4 $a Political science. $3 528916
650 4 $a European history. $2 bicssc $3 1972904
650 4 $a Public policy. $3 532803
653 $a Anti-communism
653 $a Democracy
653 $a Laos
653 $a Nationalism
653 $a Race
653 $a Royal Lao government
653 $a World War II
653 $a Indochina War
653 $a Lao War
653 $a Ethnic minorities
653 $a France
653 $a United States
690 $a 0332
690 $a 0222
690 $a 0335
690 $a 0630
690 $a 0337
690 $a 0601
690 $a 0615
710 2 $a The University of Wisconsin - Madison. $b History. $3 2092571
773 0 $t Dissertations Abstracts International $g 82-06A.
790 $a 0262
791 $a Ph.D.
792 $a 2018
793 $a English
856 4 0 $u https://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=10822338