Andrew Walker | The Australian National University (original) (raw)
Books by Andrew Walker
When a populist movement elected Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, many o... more When a populist movement elected Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, many of the country's urban elite dismissed the outcome as just another symptom of rural corruption, a traditional patronage system dominated by local strongmen pressuring their neighbors through political bullying and vote-buying. In Thailand's Political Peasants, however, Andrew Walker argues that the emergence of an entirely new socioeconomic dynamic has dramatically changed the relations of Thai peasants with the state, making them a political force to be reckoned with. Whereas their ancestors focused on subsistence, this generation of middle-income peasants seeks productive relationships with sources of state power, produces cash crops, and derives additional income through non-agricultural work. In the increasingly decentralized, disaggregated country, rural villagers and farmers have themselves become entrepreneurs and agents of the state at the local level, while the state has changed from an extractor of taxes to a supplier of subsidies and a patron of development projects.
Thailand's Political Peasants provides an original, provocative analysis that encourages an ethnographic rethinking of rural politics in rapidly developing countries. Drawing on six years of fieldwork in Ban Tiam, a rural village in northern Thailand, Walker shows how analyses of peasant politics that focus primarily on rebellion, resistance, and evasion are becoming less useful for understanding emergent forms of political society
Most current ethnographic work on the Tai world of mainland Southeast Asia associates community w... more Most current ethnographic work on the Tai world of mainland Southeast Asia associates community with tradition, locality, and subsistence economy. This book challenges the view that community is a traditional social form being undermined by the modern forces of state incorporation, market penetration, and population mobility. Using case studies from Thailand, Laos, Burma, and China, the collection explores the creation of "modern community" in contexts of economic and political transformation.
Based on extensive travel in the upper Mekong hinterland, this volume is a fascinating account of... more Based on extensive travel in the upper Mekong hinterland, this volume is a fascinating account of the lives of the transport operators, traders, entrepreneurs, and government officials.
Papers by Andrew Walker
Journal of Contemporary Asia, Jan 1, 2008
The Thai coup of 19 September 2006 derived ideological legitimacy from the view that the Thaksin ... more The Thai coup of 19 September 2006 derived ideological legitimacy from the view that the Thaksin government's electoral mandate was illegitimate because it had been ''bought'' from an unsophisticated and easily manipulated electorate. There is nothing new about this argument, nor its use in justifying military interference. Political commentators have asserted regularly that the Thai populace lacks the basic characteristics essential for a modern democratic citizenry. Accounts of the deficiencies of rural voters often focus on their parochialism, their lack of political sophistication, the vulnerability to vote buying and the influence of electoral canvassers (hua khanaen). This article challenges this negative portrayal of rural electoral culture. Drawing on ethnographic field work in northern Thailand, it is argued that the everyday politics of elections is informed by a range of different electoral values that shape judgements about legitimate, and illegitimate, political power in electoral contexts. These local values can be usefully thought of as comprising a ''rural constitution.''
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Jan 1, 2004
Asian Ethnicity, Jan 1, 2001
Recent Thai research on Karen ethnicity and resource management places signi cant emphasis on rot... more Recent Thai research on Karen ethnicity and resource management places signi cant emphasis on rotational shifting cultivation (rai mun wian). A broad consensus has emerged that this is a relatively sustainable, ecologically friendly and subsistence-oriented form of agriculture that is threatened by the recent intrusion of the state and the market. This paper argues that the portrayals encompassed by this 'Karen consensus' rely on overly selective accounts of Karen economy and, in particular, play down the historical importance of long-term agricultural intensi cation and commercial exchange. While recognising the importance of establishing the legitimacy of upland communities in a context of tenure insecurity and resource con ict, the paper argues that the 'limited legitimacy' of the 'Karen consensus' runs the risk of undermining Karen claims for a greater share of natural resources and development assistance.
Development and change, Jan 1, 2003
Tensions over water resources in upland areas of northern Thailand are often attributed to reduct... more Tensions over water resources in upland areas of northern Thailand are often attributed to reductions in water supply caused by forest clearing. This article argues that the hydrological evidence for such reductions in supply is very weak and that, rather, the key hydrological issue in upland catchments is a significant increase in water demand, especially during the dry season. The arguments are illustrated with a detailed examination of the Mae Uam catchment, located in Chiang Mai province, where the development of dryseason soybean cultivation appears to have tested the hydrological limit of the catchment, and even exceeded this limit in drier years. The author argues that a shift in focus from water supply to water demand has fundamentally important political implications. As long as the focus of public debate is on water supply, the regulatory focus will be on those resident in the forested upland areas that are seen as being crucial in securing downstream flows. But if the water management focus is shifted to water demand, then regulatory attention must shift to the diverse sources of demand that exist throughout the hydrological system.
Ecological Modelling, Jan 1, 2003
When a populist movement elected Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, many o... more When a populist movement elected Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, many of the country's urban elite dismissed the outcome as just another symptom of rural corruption, a traditional patronage system dominated by local strongmen pressuring their neighbors through political bullying and vote-buying. In Thailand's Political Peasants, however, Andrew Walker argues that the emergence of an entirely new socioeconomic dynamic has dramatically changed the relations of Thai peasants with the state, making them a political force to be reckoned with. Whereas their ancestors focused on subsistence, this generation of middle-income peasants seeks productive relationships with sources of state power, produces cash crops, and derives additional income through non-agricultural work. In the increasingly decentralized, disaggregated country, rural villagers and farmers have themselves become entrepreneurs and agents of the state at the local level, while the state has changed from an extractor of taxes to a supplier of subsidies and a patron of development projects.
Thailand's Political Peasants provides an original, provocative analysis that encourages an ethnographic rethinking of rural politics in rapidly developing countries. Drawing on six years of fieldwork in Ban Tiam, a rural village in northern Thailand, Walker shows how analyses of peasant politics that focus primarily on rebellion, resistance, and evasion are becoming less useful for understanding emergent forms of political society
Most current ethnographic work on the Tai world of mainland Southeast Asia associates community w... more Most current ethnographic work on the Tai world of mainland Southeast Asia associates community with tradition, locality, and subsistence economy. This book challenges the view that community is a traditional social form being undermined by the modern forces of state incorporation, market penetration, and population mobility. Using case studies from Thailand, Laos, Burma, and China, the collection explores the creation of "modern community" in contexts of economic and political transformation.
Based on extensive travel in the upper Mekong hinterland, this volume is a fascinating account of... more Based on extensive travel in the upper Mekong hinterland, this volume is a fascinating account of the lives of the transport operators, traders, entrepreneurs, and government officials.
Journal of Contemporary Asia, Jan 1, 2008
The Thai coup of 19 September 2006 derived ideological legitimacy from the view that the Thaksin ... more The Thai coup of 19 September 2006 derived ideological legitimacy from the view that the Thaksin government's electoral mandate was illegitimate because it had been ''bought'' from an unsophisticated and easily manipulated electorate. There is nothing new about this argument, nor its use in justifying military interference. Political commentators have asserted regularly that the Thai populace lacks the basic characteristics essential for a modern democratic citizenry. Accounts of the deficiencies of rural voters often focus on their parochialism, their lack of political sophistication, the vulnerability to vote buying and the influence of electoral canvassers (hua khanaen). This article challenges this negative portrayal of rural electoral culture. Drawing on ethnographic field work in northern Thailand, it is argued that the everyday politics of elections is informed by a range of different electoral values that shape judgements about legitimate, and illegitimate, political power in electoral contexts. These local values can be usefully thought of as comprising a ''rural constitution.''
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Jan 1, 2004
Asian Ethnicity, Jan 1, 2001
Recent Thai research on Karen ethnicity and resource management places signi cant emphasis on rot... more Recent Thai research on Karen ethnicity and resource management places signi cant emphasis on rotational shifting cultivation (rai mun wian). A broad consensus has emerged that this is a relatively sustainable, ecologically friendly and subsistence-oriented form of agriculture that is threatened by the recent intrusion of the state and the market. This paper argues that the portrayals encompassed by this 'Karen consensus' rely on overly selective accounts of Karen economy and, in particular, play down the historical importance of long-term agricultural intensi cation and commercial exchange. While recognising the importance of establishing the legitimacy of upland communities in a context of tenure insecurity and resource con ict, the paper argues that the 'limited legitimacy' of the 'Karen consensus' runs the risk of undermining Karen claims for a greater share of natural resources and development assistance.
Development and change, Jan 1, 2003
Tensions over water resources in upland areas of northern Thailand are often attributed to reduct... more Tensions over water resources in upland areas of northern Thailand are often attributed to reductions in water supply caused by forest clearing. This article argues that the hydrological evidence for such reductions in supply is very weak and that, rather, the key hydrological issue in upland catchments is a significant increase in water demand, especially during the dry season. The arguments are illustrated with a detailed examination of the Mae Uam catchment, located in Chiang Mai province, where the development of dryseason soybean cultivation appears to have tested the hydrological limit of the catchment, and even exceeded this limit in drier years. The author argues that a shift in focus from water supply to water demand has fundamentally important political implications. As long as the focus of public debate is on water supply, the regulatory focus will be on those resident in the forested upland areas that are seen as being crucial in securing downstream flows. But if the water management focus is shifted to water demand, then regulatory attention must shift to the diverse sources of demand that exist throughout the hydrological system.
Ecological Modelling, Jan 1, 2003