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Identities beyond ethnic-based subordination or conflict in the Southeast Asian borderlands: a case study of Lao villagers in northeast Cambodia

Identities beyond ethnic-based subordination or conflict in the Southeast Asian borderlands: a... This paper explores everyday expressions of identity by Lao villagers living in northeast Cambodia near the border with Laos, and uses this to reflect on trends in studies of identity in the remote borderlands of Southeast Asia. I argue that while ethnicity is certainly crucial, discipline-specific emphases – ethnic-based subordination or conflict for social studies and political studies, respectively – result in less attention to other important dynamics shaping identity. Furthermore, I suggest that low-profile case studies not strongly linked to ethnic-based subordination or conflict – such as the Lao in Cambodia – require study for a more comprehensive view of identity in the borderlands. The case study from northeast Cambodia identifies four key dynamics shaping identity: inter-state relations, ethno-national identities, cross-border livelihoods and social status. I show how minimal inter-state tensions and varied personal connections to Laos were important in facilitating villagers’ involvement in lucrative illegal cross-border logging in Laos, but the latter were never used to justify this practice. Instead in this everyday setting, villagers emphasised their sense of marginalisation within Cambodia and thus demonstrate their regular prioritisation of status. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Ethnicity Taylor & Francis

Identities beyond ethnic-based subordination or conflict in the Southeast Asian borderlands: a case study of Lao villagers in northeast Cambodia

Singh, Sarinda
Asian Ethnicity , Volume 18 (1): 22 – Jan 2, 2017
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Identities beyond ethnic-based subordination or conflict in the Southeast Asian borderlands: a case study of Lao villagers in northeast Cambodia

Abstract

This paper explores everyday expressions of identity by Lao villagers living in northeast Cambodia near the border with Laos, and uses this to reflect on trends in studies of identity in the remote borderlands of Southeast Asia. I argue that while ethnicity is certainly crucial, discipline-specific emphases – ethnic-based subordination or conflict for social studies and political studies, respectively – result in less attention to other important dynamics shaping identity....
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1469-2953
eISSN
1463-1369
DOI
10.1080/14631369.2015.1120053
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper explores everyday expressions of identity by Lao villagers living in northeast Cambodia near the border with Laos, and uses this to reflect on trends in studies of identity in the remote borderlands of Southeast Asia. I argue that while ethnicity is certainly crucial, discipline-specific emphases – ethnic-based subordination or conflict for social studies and political studies, respectively – result in less attention to other important dynamics shaping identity. Furthermore, I suggest that low-profile case studies not strongly linked to ethnic-based subordination or conflict – such as the Lao in Cambodia – require study for a more comprehensive view of identity in the borderlands. The case study from northeast Cambodia identifies four key dynamics shaping identity: inter-state relations, ethno-national identities, cross-border livelihoods and social status. I show how minimal inter-state tensions and varied personal connections to Laos were important in facilitating villagers’ involvement in lucrative illegal cross-border logging in Laos, but the latter were never used to justify this practice. Instead in this everyday setting, villagers emphasised their sense of marginalisation within Cambodia and thus demonstrate their regular prioritisation of status.

Journal

Asian Ethnicity – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jan 2, 2017

Keywords: Cambodia; ethnic Lao; borderlands; identity; social status; illegal logging; cross-border livelihoods

References

  • Making Spaces: The Ethnic Brao People and the International Border between Laos and Cambodia
  • Different Views of History: Shades of Irredentism along the Laos-Cambodia Border
  • Comparing Ethnic Conflicts: Common Patterns, Shared Challenges
  • Perpetually Temporary: Citizenship and Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia
  • Negotiating Autonomy at the Margins of the State: The Dynamics of Elite Politics in the Borderland of West Kalimantan, Indonesia
  • Borderland Livelihood Strategies: The Socio-Economic Significance of Ethnicity in Cross-Border Labour Migration, West Kalimantan, Indonesia
  • Paths to Freedom: Political Prospecting in the Ethnographic Record
  • Presidential Address: ‘The Peoples of Asia’-Science and Politics in the Classification of Ethnic Groups in Thailand, China, and Vietnam
  • Ethnic Conflict, Ethnic Accommodation, and Nation-Building in Southeast Asia
  • Putting Ecstasy to Work: Pleasure, Prostitution, and Inequality in the Indonesian Borderlands
  • Contesting Isan-Ness: Discourses of Politics and Identity in Northeast Thailand
  • On Researching ‘Ethnic Conflict’: Epistemology, Politics, and a Central Asian Boundary Dispute
  • Handling Mountain Minorities in China, Vietnam and Laos: From History to Current Concerns
  • Nation/Representation: Ethnic Classification and Mapping Nationhood in Contemporary Laos
  • Escaping the Burdens of Chineseness
  • Borderland Practices and Narratives: Illegal Cross-Border Logging in Northeastern Cambodia
  • In Defence of the Archaic: A Reconsideration of the 1950s Ethnic Classification Project in China
  • Thailand’s Khmer as ‘Invisible Minority’: Language, Ethnicity and Cultural Politics in North-Eastern Thailand
  • Latent Danger: Boundary Disputes and Border Issues in Southeast Asia
  • Laos Working to Finalize Border Demarcation with Neighbors