Dissertation Research: Power, Production, and Place: Upland Communities and State-Minority Relations in Northern Thailand

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This project involves the dissertation research of an anthropology student in a tribal area of Thailand. The student will examine how local tribal peoples have changed their social organization in response to government activities in the region. He hypothesizes that the recent increase in local-community social hierarchies is related to access to government programs which provide access to income. His method will be to focus on three villages selected to vary along the dimension of local- state interactions. Using participant observation and structured interviews, he will study how people think of their relationships with the state institutions they are aware of. He will conduct weekly economic surveys in these villages as well as a wider socio-economic survey of an additional 8 villages. This research is important because tribal peoples everywhere are in intimate contact with state (and international) programs. Understanding how one regional case has evolved can help decision makers understand how to influence people in similar areas to change their behavior to stimulate beneficial economic development.