Journal Articles

History and geography of identifications related to resource conflicts and ethnic violence in Northern Thailand

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Resource conflicts often intensify ethnic violence and vice versa. However, in specific cases situations
can be more complex than they appear. To understand this phenomenon, this chapter takes incidents of violence
in Northern Thailand as a point of departure to explain how the historical construction of ethnic identification is
tied to the spatial division of highlands and lowlands. I argue that these incidents of violence are not just about
resource scarcity but also about notions of forests and highlands as places of wildness and lowlands as the source of civilisation. The current adoption of a nature conservation discourse among Thais puts forests and hills into a battlefield of perceived resource degradation. Some situations have been aggravated to the point that violence has been perpetuated against ethnic highlanders by lowlanders who have adopted orthodox science and nationalist sentiments drawn from a history and geography of ethnic identification. Taking a political ecology approach, this article highlights the interplay among resources, access rights, identity, history, polity, and space to unveil the complexity and specificity of ethnic violence.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Asia Pacific Viewpoint

Call Number

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Publisher

Victoria, Australia : Blackwell Publishing Asia., 2008

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

1360-7456

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 49, No. 1, Page 111-127

Subject(s)

Ethnic conflict
History
Thailand

Specific Detail Info

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