Abstract
This paper examines the formation of a modern state with demarcated borders in Thailand. The case taken into account is the presence of KMT (Kuomintang) Chinese troops in the northwestern borderlands, the Thai government's attempts to control them, and the hill tribes' adaptation to these circumstances from the 1950s through the 1980s. The analysis demonstrates that not addressing the occupation of its frontier by foreign armed groups in favor of anti-communist considerations, the Thai government's Cold War policy delayed the nation's official goal—the completion of a modern territorial state. It further shows the dual nature, or “official” and “unofficial” mechanisms, of modern state formation in Southeast Asia. The hill tribes in the anti-communist camp have exploited the “unofficial” side of this process as front-line soldiers against the communists inside and outside the nation. This dualism began to disappear only after the 1980s, when the government declared victory over the communist challenge.
