A Siamese Tragedy: Development and Disintegration in Modern Thailand

This book argues that, even before the catastrophic collapse of 1997-98, the Thai economic miracle of the previous decade had feet of clay. The authors provide a comprehensive and cogent examination of the country’s economic, environmental and human record. The book opens with the economic collapse that started in 1997. Is this a mere short-term blip in Thailand’s race to build a modern industrial economy or is there a real prospect of the country being pushed back into Third World status? The authors explore the role of foreign investment and the consequences in terms of pollution and environmental destruction. They also present the human effects of the Thai model on workers, rural villagers, women and child labor. What emerges is a sustained critique of the vested interests, local and international, which have propelled the Thai people down this particular path, and a clear picture of how unsustainable it has been in terms of human exploitation, social disruption, ecological damage and economic fragility.

Walden Bello is Co-Director of Focus on the Global South in Thailand. Shea Cunningham is pursuing graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Li Keng Poh is a Research Associate at Focus on the Global South.