Minority manipulation in colonial Indochina: Lessons and legacies

Abstract

As one student of the ethnohistory of the highlands of Indochina, Hickey, has written, the French “penetration” of Kontum, Ban Me Thuot, and Dalat had achieved a certain success by the beginning of the First World War. Central to the viability of the French colonial project of economic exploitation in the highlands was the need for road construction and other public works, including labor for privately owned French plantations. Not only did the subject peoples of the remote villages of the interior—broadly designated Montagnards in this essay—find themselves obliged to pay taxes, but they were also expected by the French to provide corvée labor or labor dues (prestation). Colonialism indubitably demands the services of local collaborators, and such was the case in the highlands where local chiefs were vested with new authority by the French administration. Even though by the 1930s the French “pacification” of the interior had reduced armed opposition to the nuisance level, pacification's twin imperative of administrative penetration of the conquered zones and peoples posed equally serious ethical questions.     

泰国的阿卡人

阿卡人是泰国的一个少数民族,居住在泰国北部地区。作为泰国的一个山地民族,阿卡人有它自己独特的语言习俗和历史文化。本文拟对此作一简要论述。     

越南饮食俗语蕴涵的社会文化

越南饮食俗语内容丰富,教益性强。文章拟从其中蕴涵的越民族传统民俗礼仪、道德文化及其体现的文化传承、社会教化功能做一探讨,旨在在进一步学习越南俗语和加深对越南传统文化理解的基础上,促进跨文化的学习与交流。     

The origins of the Vietnamese revolution: Taking the long view

Abstract

Americans knew little about Vietnam when they assumed command of the Indochina War in 1954. There were no American scholars who devoted their careers to its study, and, with the exception of Virginia Thompson's French Indochina and a few other works, there was no American body of work on the subject. And so, to better understand the political and social forces confronting them, Americans took possession of the entire French work on Vietnam as part of their legacy of war. Thus, as the first American scholars began to study the Vietnamese revolution, they built on the foundation laid by decades of French scholarly effort.     

发展中的越南旅游业

越南旅游业起步虽晚,但发展速度却相当快,发展优势十分明显.资金不足和管理不善是制约越南旅游业发展的主要因素,这两大问题若能解决,越南旅游业定会走上一个新台阶.     

The Vietnamese experience and the third world

Abstract

Based on Vietnam's experience over the past years, I wish to make some general observations about development in the third world. The major consideration, though not the sole one, for my treating such a topic is undoubtedly my own participation in the Vietnamese experience and my personal familiarity with many of the aspects involved. Furthermore, the historical process has moved so fast over the past years in Vietnam that my country has passed rapidly through a succession of different phases. Over a period of 15 years, an adult would have lived under totally different social, political and economic regimes, directly experiencing such important movements as a war of national liberation, land reform, and the transition from a colonial and feudal regime to an independent and finally socialist state.     

The Chancellor's forgotten blunder: Konrad Adenauer's foundation for refugees and expellees

Adenauer's major political mistakes towards the end of his political career are fairly well remembered but hardly anyone recalls his disastrous attempt to set up a foundation for refugees and expellees prior to the 1953 general elections. This article explains the reasons for the establishment and its failure but also the reasons why this blunder is hardly remembered anymore although it is a prime example of Adenauer's thinking and realpolitische acting.     

The Syrian refugees—left to their fate

ABSTRACT

The war in Syria led to one of the worst refugee crises experienced by the Middle East in recent decades. Its scope is unprecedented and has far-reaching implications not only for Syria or what remains of it, but for the receiving countries as well. In some cases, such as Lebanon or Jordan, the mass of newcomers may have an unsettling and disruptive effect on the demography of their host country. Syrian Refugees who found shelter in neighbouring countries may be able to return home or, alternatively, they may be able to be absorbed relatively easily in their current places of residence. With regard to the refugees in Europe, it is doubtful that they will ever return to their homeland, and, in any case, the Syrian regime is not at all interested in their return. Thus, for many more years even after the war in Syria ends, the problem of the refugees will undoubtedly remain complex, unresolved and an enduring burden on the host countries.

Abbreviation: EU: European Union; ISIS: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; PPS: the Syrian National Party; SNC: Syrian National Council; UN: United Nations; UNCHR: the UN High commisioner for Refugees     

越南经济现状及发展趋势

进入新世纪以来,越南经济迅速发展,经济结构和经济增长质量大为改善,国家财政收入稳步增长,金融状况有所好转,投资环境得到改善,社会投资踊跃,已基本走出基础差、积累少的困境.虽然越南经济仍面临极大的挑战,但其基础已经稳固,同时世界经济形势的好转也为越南经济发展提供了机遇,越南未来经济发展潜力巨大,前景乐观.     

The Vietnamese People Resolutely Support the Chilean People

Scholars disagree over the consequences of economic reforms on regional inequality in China. This article has found that dramatic disparities exist among the provinces in China's coastal region. While coastal provinces like Jiangsu have experienced dramatic growth, the relative position of Liaoning has declined, and Shanghai has experienced a decline and a recent recovery. These changing patterns of growth have contributed to the decline of interprovincial inequality, but led to the rise of the coast-interior divide in China. The analysis of the diverse coastal provinces is critical to improve the understanding of regional inequality in China.     

The Resilience of Monarchised Military in Thailand

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that conventional notions of Thailand’s military must be re-examined because they misrepresent the military’s role in politics. Instead of examining its material interests, one must also scrutinise the power and legitimacy of Thailand’s armed forces in terms of its connection to monarchy over time. The relationship between monarchy and military represents a “parallel state”, whereas the ideology, rituals and processes within this relationship result in what can be termed a “monarchised military.” The purpose of this nexus is to sustain a palace-centred order from which the military obtains legitimacy. From 1991 until 2014, the monarchised military mostly operated behind a defective democracy, although it occasionally carried out coups to re-assert the palace’s authority. Its more recent political intrusions have enhanced the military’s power on Thailand’s political stage. Civilian prime ministers have unsuccessfully sought to reign in the military, but to no avail owing to the armed forces’ close association with monarchy.     

泰国南传佛教的早期传播分析

泰民族为追求解脱而选择南传佛教,庇护思想与制度的形成、短期制出家习俗的流行推动其传播和发展.素可泰初期佛教开始传播,但发展缓慢,直到素可泰后期,特别是阿育陀耶王朝萨迪纳制度改革中,官员的短期制出家习俗制度化以后才有较大的发展.19世纪后期萨迪纳土地制度解体,泰国南传佛教步入现代发展轨道.     

泰南冲突的文明模式

泰南冲突是文明冲突的典型例子.为研究泰南冲突的文明模式,本文基于塞缪尔·亨廷顿的文明冲突论,并对亨氏断层线战争的一般结构模式进行借鉴和修正,提出泰南宗教与民族冲突的文明模式,认为泰南冲突是冲突双方都没有文明核心国家的宗教与民族冲突.该模式提供了将冲突控制在最小范围和最低烈度、避免升级为国际战争的方法,可以为其它类型的文明冲突提供思维方式和参考模型.