Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam since 1945
David Chandler
8 points * 3 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
The subject will examine the recent history of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The effects of World War II on the three countries will be seen as leading toward an intensified nationalism and toward a socialist revolution in Vietnam. In the 1960s and 1970s, civil wars in Cambodia and Vietnam and insurgency in Thailand challenged existing institutions and drew outside powers into the region. The coup d'état in Bangkok in 1973 (and the counter-coup of 1976) will be compared to events in this period in Cambodia and Vietnam. Revolutions and opposition to them will be compared in detail, and so will events in the three countries since 1980.
Assessment
Written (4500 words) * Examinations (1.5 hours)
Recommended texts
Becker E When the war was over Simon and Schuster
Chandler D P A history of Cambodia Westview
Chandler D P and others Pol Pot plans the future Yale U/SEAP
Girling J L S Thailand Cornell UP
Herring G America's longest war Wiley
Reynolds C J Thai radical discourse Cornell UP
Rowley K and Evans G Red brotherhood at war Verso
Steinberg D J In search of Southeast Asia Allen and Unwin
West F J The village U of Wisconsin
Wyatt D K Thailand: A short history Yale UP