In the eyes of the beholder: American and Thai perceptions of the highland minority during the Cold War

The highland minority in the northern border areas of Thailand received special attention from the United States and Thai governments from the early 1950s, as its members were suspected of being supporters or sympathisers of the Chinese communists. After a brief review of the ethnographic research in Thailand before the 1950s, this article examines the ways the Thai and US military researchers promoted racially and culturally hierarchical concepts of national security during the Cold War. Their views directly affected policymaking processes in Thailand, widening further the extant gap between the Thai government and the ethnic minority.