TY  - BOOK
AU  - Phillips,Matthew
TI  - Thailand in the Cold War
T2  - Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia
SN  - 9781138476097 (paperback)
AV  - DS575.5.U5 P45 2017
PY  - 2017///
CY  - London
PB  - Routledge
KW  - Popular culture
KW  - Thailand
KW  - History
KW  - 20th century
KW  - Cold War
KW  - Foreign relations
KW  - United States
KW  - 1945-1988
N1  - Reprint. Originally published: 2016; "A theatre with two stages" : Jim Thompson's Thailand -- In and out of Vogue : dressing for progress before and after 1945 -- If not "great," then what? : rethinking Thainess in post-war Bangkok -- Cultural spectacle, political authority and the subversion of Thai modernity -- The Tourist Organisation of Thailand and Cold War propaganda -- It's a small world after all : Thailand's integration into free world culture
N2  - "Thailand's position during the Cold War was ambiguous: the country's political leadership was very keen to maintain the country's independence on the world stage, yet at the same time was anxious to establish the country's credentials as staunchly anti-communist. However, as this book argues, Thailand, though never formally a client state of the United States, was very closely embedded in the Western camp through the commitment of Thailand's cosmopolitan urban communities to developing a modern, consumerist lifestyle. Considering popular culture, including film, literature, fashion, tourism and attitudes towards Buddhism, the book shows how an ideology of consumerism and integration into a "free world" culture centred in the United States gradually took hold and became firmly established, and how this popular culture and ideology was fundamental in determining Thailand's international political alignment"--
ER  -