The Cold War, the United States, and the Nation-State Building Process in the Thai-Cambodian Borderlands

A Case Study of Thai-Cambodian Border Self-Defense Villages

Abstract

During the Cold War, self-defense villages along the Thai-Cambodian border played a crucial role in safeguarding national security and advancing the geopolitical strategies of the United States in Southeast Asia. This article seeks to illuminate the role of U.S. assistance in shaping Thailand’s nation-state building during the Cold War, as well as the operations of these self-defense villages in reinforcing state security and instilling national ideology in the Thai-Cambodian borderlands. The study employs a combination of documentary research and fieldwork, using the concept of state-nation building as the analytical framework. The findings reveal that: (1) U.S. technical and financial support significantly enhanced the capacity of the Thai state by extending its reach and enabling it to better understand and respond to the needs of local populations. This was achieved through infrastructure development, modern mapping, and the establishment of civilian operations units. (2) Furthermore, the Thai-Cambodian self-defense village program, co-established with U.S. involvement, emerged as a critical mechanism for strengthening Thai state security. It contributed to national defense and the containment of populations within border areas to counter foreign military threats and the influx of Cambodian refugees. These efforts were carried out through military training exercises, land entitlement programs, and livelihood development initiatives. Simultaneously, institutional inculcation, centered on the nation, religion, monarchy, and democracy, along with population relocation and the manipulation of feelings of security and insecurity, helped to instill a sense of national imagination and delineate the boundaries of loyalty between Thai citizens and Cambodian migrants.