Finding Their Voice - Northeastern Villagers and the Thai State (Paperback)

This book traces the evolution of the rural, Lao-speaking people of northeastern Thailand, now over a third of the nation's population, from a traditional peasantry into "cosmopolitan" villagers who are actively shaping Thai politics. The electoral successes of the Thai Rak Thai/Pheu Thai Party in the early twenty-first century and the strong support given to the Red-Shirt movement appear to have finally given the cosmopolitan villagers of northeastern Thailand a continuing voice in the nation's political process.

Charles Keyes is professor emeritus of anthropology and international studies at the University of Washington.