THAILAND IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: A STUDY OF FOREIGN POLICY 1945-1991

Introduction-
Chapter 1 Approaches to the study of Thailand's foreign policy 5
The Dominant Leader Approach 5
The Bureaucratic Polity Approach 8
The Military Approach 10
The Domestic Consensus Approach 13
The Systemic Determinant Approach 15
Chapter 2 Thailand and Postwar Southeast Asia 18
War and The Aftermath of Thailand's Early Regional Diplomacy 20
An Early Drive towards Regional Cooperation 29
Thailand and Some Early Regional Initiatives 33
Chapter 3 Thailand, the Cold War and Southeast Asia 44
The Domestic Setting:
the Return of Phibun and Military Domination of Politics 44
The Transitional Period (1948-1950) 46
Thailand and the Polarisation of Southeast Asia 49
Strategic Partnership, Collective Defence, and Regional Security 54
Thailand and SEATO 55
Thailand's Membership of SEATO:
Implications for Regional Relations 58
The Bandung Conference of 1955 61
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1 Chapter 4 The Laotian Crises and Problems with SEATO 69
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I SEATO and Thailand's Regional Security 69
1 SEATO and the Communist Threat: The Thai perspective 71
- Overt Aggression 73
- Subversion 74
< Sarit and the Renewal of Thailand's Commitment to SEATO 77
SEATO and the Laotian Crises: The Thai Perspective 81
Thailand, SEATO, and the Neutralisation of Laos 88
1 The 1962 Rusk-Thanat Agreement 93
Chapter 5 Thailand and Regional Cooperation 99
A More Independent Thailand:
the Aftermath of the Laotian Settlement 99
Thanat and the Search for Policy Alternatives 103
The Reemergence of Regional Cooperation
as a Policy Alternative 107
Thailand and Some Pre-ASEAN Attempts at Regionalism 115
- The Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) 115
- The Asian and Pacific Council (ASPAC) 122
Chapter 6 Thailand in ASEAN 128
The Changing Thai Perspective on Regional Cooperation 130
- Regional Cooperation as An Early Experiment 130
- Regional Cooperation as 'the True and Only Alternative' 132
- The Chinese Factor 133
- The Deteriorating Situation in Indochina 135
- The Prospect of United States Disengagement
from Southeast Asia 13 8
The Formation of ASEAN 141
ASEAN and Implications for Thai Foreign Policy, 1967-1975 147
ASEAN as 'Collective Political Defence' 148
Thailand in ASEAN: the Emergence of Sub-regional Solidarity 153
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Chapter 7 The Politics of A Front-line State 162
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| Domestic Transition and Policy Implications 162
I Thailand as the 'Front-line State' 167
I ASEAN Collective Responses to the Indochina Crises,
| 1976-1977 171
c? Thailand in ASEAN: the Politics of a Front-line State,
I 1978-1988 175
Thailand's Perception of the Vietnamese-Cambodian Conflict 177
Factors Determining Thailand's Policy on the Cambodian Conflict 181
ASEAN and the Cambodian Conflict:
The View from the Front-line State 183
- The Mobilisation of International Opposition against
The Vietnamese Action 184
- The Promotion of a Coalition Effort Among Cambodian
Resistance Factions 190
1 Chapter 8 Chatichai and the Reinterpretation of 'Front-line State' 195
| I Thailand, ASEAN and the Cambodian Stalemate 195
[ | Thailand and the Cambodian Stalemate: A Prelude to Change 202
5 Chatichai and the Reinterpretation of 'Front-line State' 208
i ! Chatichai's Vision and Thailand's New Regional Diplomacy 211
[ ] - A More Flexible Approach towards
I 1 the Cambodian Question 211
:| - A New Economic Overture towards Indochina 224
| Thailand's Foreign Policy after Chatichai: A Post-script 237
I Conclusion 242
I Appendix Thai Foreign Ministers since 1946 247
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I Bibliography 250