Introduction

The first chapter introduces the issue topic and presents a set of research questions for the study. It then discusses briefly the argument of the book, its methodology, as well as the structure of the book. Specifically, it points out that this book is a comparative historical account of the state and nation-building process in an “organic” upland area that shares lots of similarities in terms of geography and ethnic diversity, yet has become increasingly incorporated into a set of neighboring modern states. Departing from existing approaches that look at such processes mainly from the angle of singular, bounded territorial states, the book argues that a more fruitful approach is to see how state and nation building in one country can influence, and be influenced by, the same processes across borders.

Spillover of the Chinese Civil War and Militarization of the Borderland

Chapter 4 analyzes the legacy of the KMT in the borderland area, after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War, in terms of its impact on state building in the three countries. It analyzes how the KMT incursion in Burma played a sizable role in the fragmentation of Burma in the peripheries and also indirectly set in motion the militarized confrontation between the Burmese army and many of the estranged ethnic groups. In Thailand’s case, KMT remnant troops proved instrumental in Thai counter-insurgency campaigns within the context of its broader security relations with the United States during the Cold War. For China, the communist government carried out ruthless counterinsurgencies against the KMT remnants as well as other ethnic and local rebellions in mountainous areas that resisted the communist regime’s consolidation of power. Campaigns were also carried out to subdue the population in the name of suppressing counter-revolutionaries.

Continual Contestations at the China-Myanmar Border

Chapter 8 looks at the ongoing ethnic conflicts along the Sino-Myanmar borderland area, and explores ways in which these conflicts continue to implicate Myanmar’s state and nation-building processes. It examines three prominent ethnic rebel groups. The first is the Kachin Independence Army, with which the Myanmar national army has ongoing military clashes. The second is the Kokang rebel group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which the Myanmar central military successfully defeated twice, in 2009 and 2015. The third is the United Wa State Army, which despite a 2011 break in the ceasefire between it and the Myanmar central government, has so far not faced direct military pressure and continues to maintain a high level of political and cultural autonomy. Altogether, the chapter offers a more up-to-date analysis of the challenges facing Myanmar’s state and nation-building processes and the implications for bilateral relations with China and Thailand.

The Neighborhood Effect of State and Nation Building

Chapter 2 establishes both the empirical and theoretical foundations for the book. For illustrative purposes, it provides comparative statistics of the divergence in state and nation building in the borderland area among the three states. For state building, it offers a set of indicators, such as taxation, education, and health provisions, to as a way to conceptualize the differences in each state’s ability to provide for its citizens along the borderland area. It then offers a sketch of how nation-building efforts in the three states in the borderland area also differ from one another in both style and substance. The chapter then discusses, in a general way, various current theoretical approaches and proposes a novel theoretical framework that looks at state and nation building as an interactive process dependent on power balances and the nature of relations among neighboring states.

Conclusion

Chapter 9 concludes with some theoretical reflection on the neighborhood effect of state and nation building. More pertinent to the borderland area examined in this book, it also looks at recent developments in China’s push for more regional economic integration and the implications for both Myanmar and Thailand. By documenting the historical development of variations in these state and nation buildings, and their contemporary manifestations, the book emphasizes how asymmetrical power relations across national borders have deep consequences for how politics along the border are structured and the diverse outcome in state consolidation and national identity construction. Specifically, the book has pointed out the substantial influence the PRC has in the political dynamic of the borderland. With its growing power asymmetry over its southern neighbors, its influence is bound to increase, along with possible resistance against its influence.

Comparative Nation Building across the Borderland Area

Chapter 7 analyzes how the different nationalist ideologies in these three countries have affected the politics of national identity among various ethnic minority groups living along the borders. It examines nation-building ideologies and policies in China, Myanmar, and Thailand, then examines how close ethnic linkages between the Shan and Thai manifest in Thailand’s interest in supporting Shan nationalist movements as part of its pan-Tai sentiment. The chapter then compares the implications of different nationalist ideologies and practices on common cross-border ethnic minorities between China and Myanmar. For many ethnic minority groups across the border, China is often perceived as a place where ethnic minorities are treated better than in Myanmar. Relative depravation in Myanmar explains this perception very well.

Dynamics of Transboundary Economic Flows

Chapter 6 discusses the economic logic of cross-border relations. To illustrate the economic dynamics of borderland state building as a result of economic asymmetry between Myanmar and its two more powerful neighbors, this chapter mainly examines two interrelated processes. The first is cross-border movement of goods and people between China, Myanmar, and Thailand. The chapter specifically examines the phenomenon of labor migration from Myanmar to Thailand, as well as the integrated trade networks across the borderland. It also discusses cross-border resource development dominated by Chinese as well as Thai capital in Myanmar. Here it mainly looks at agribusiness as well as investment in the hydropower, lumber, and mining sectors in Myanmar’s Kachin and Shan states.

Communist Revolutions at the Borderland

Chapter 5 examines China’s support for communist insurgencies in Burma and Thailand. It analyzes the legacies of the insurgency by the Communist Party of Burma and what that insurgency means for Myanmar’s failure in state building and consolidation over the borderland territories. In Thailand, the Communist Party of Thailand insurgency instilled a strong sense of urgency in the Thai government, which led to a counteractive campaign of state and nation building by the Thai government. The Thai nationalist emphasis on nation, king, and religion and the image of royal benevolence was imposed and spread throughout the area as a result. In China’s own case, the initiation of the Cultural Revolution resulted in large numbers of urban Red Guards being sent to the borderland areas in Yunnan. Through the settlement of Han Chinese youth in the borderland area, the Chinese state created a human dimension in its consolidation of the border region.

The Historical Pattern of State Formation in Upland Southeast Asia

Chapter 3 introduces the historical background of the upland Southeast Asia borderland area. It analyzes how the upland area and its people were perceived by valley states and attempts made by those states to approach them militarily and politically. It examines existing historiographies coming from the perspectives of the Chinese, Myanmar, and Thai states, paying attention to how those states used a variety of means—military, political, and economic—in their efforts to deal with the mosaic of people living in the upland area. It also considers the perspectives of the upland people themselves in terms of how they viewed their relations with those valley states, if such accounts are available. The purpose of the chapter is to put this borderland area in a historical perspective, while emphasizing the overall lack of state and national consolidation of the territories and people before the modern period.