Description
Book SynopsisThrough a study of the Border Patrol Police’s transformations,
Indigenizing the Cold War shows how the Thai ruling elite unfailingly pursued their nation-building. With an introduction of the ‘indigenization’ concept and an in-depth analysis of postcolonial nation-building, this work challenges conventional Cold War studies.
Trade ReviewIn this highly original and engaging book, Sinae Hyun offers a new account of the hot Cold War in Thailand through a rich, detailed analysis of the genesis and consolidation of the Border Patrol Police (BPP). Initially funded by the CIA and crafted with collaboration from the US government, Thai military, and Thai monarchy, the BPP is a repressive paramilitary force that went to great lengths to prevent communism from succeeding in Thailand. What makes this book so exciting is that Hyun uses the history of the BPP to develop new arguments about the Cold War in and beyond Thailand. By questioning the very border the BPP was policing—one that was at once psychological and human as well as physical—she develops a new theoretical optic that illustrates how counterinsurgency functioned as a project of creating a new nation and new national subjects." —Tyrell Haberkorn, University of Wisconsin–Madison
