The importance of development strategies that emphasise local agency and authenticity has long be... more The importance of development strategies that emphasise local agency and authenticity has long been recognised, but these goals often preclude the access to the extralocal resources and knowledge s...
This research, based on fieldwork conducted Northeast Thailand with development monks and their l... more This research, based on fieldwork conducted Northeast Thailand with development monks and their lay collaborators, examines the contrasting practices and ideologies of Pra S in Loei province-who is working with villagers to oppose the construction of a nearby goldmine-and Pra Potiwirakun in Roi Et province-who, in a addition to turning his temple into a community center and ICT training facility, is a key player in the creation and maintenance of networks of development monks and outside actors. I discuss the ideological differences underpinning their sustainable development practices, which I refer to, respectively, as neolocalism and networked localism.
This paper examines the changing roles of monks in alternative development in northeast Thailand.... more This paper examines the changing roles of monks in alternative development in northeast Thailand. Specifically, it is an attempt to understand the relationship among development monks, NGOs, and the state in the context of localist development ideology and practice. When the phrase ‘development monk’ first entered the Thai lexicon, it was primarily used to refer to monks who engaged in social activism aimed at combatting state-led development policies. Support for these projects often came from localist NGOs, many of whom were anti-government. However, with the creation of the “People’s Constitution” and the passage of the National Decentralization Act in the late 1990s, the Thai government began adopting the language and symbols of localism in its own development strategies. I argue that this has worked to crowd out localist NGOs critical of government policy and has created a practical and symbolic ‘infrastructure’ that serves as the basis for future development activism. This has resulted in the ‘channeling’ of monastic development practice into state-initiated projects at the exclusion of others. This research is based on fieldwork conducted in Northeast Thailand from 2013 to 2015, consisting of participant observation and in- depth semi-structured interviews with development monks and their lay collaborators.
This paper explores the changing practices of development monks in northeast Thailand and the sym... more This paper explores the changing practices of development monks in northeast Thailand and the symbolic and ideological implications thereof. Specifically, it is an attempt to understand the ways in which development monks' collaboration with state entities has impacted the moral underpinnings of monastic development activism. The 'development monk' movement began 1960s as individual monks contesting state development practices in favor of those that adhere more closely to Buddhist teachings. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, development monks began forming networks and collaborating with neolocalist NGOs and activists in an effort to assert local autonomy and identity in the face of state development policy. However, since the creation of the " People's Constitution " and the passage of the National Decentralization Act in the late 1990s which led to the Thai government adopting the language and symbols of localism in its development strategies, there has been a large-scale withdrawal of NGO support from monastic development practice and an increase in monastic collaboration with government entities. There has been a corresponding shift in the practices of development monks from those that target economic and environmental policies to those that attempt to rein in 'vice,' such as drinking and gambling. With the recent coup, this trend has only accelerated as exemplified by the nationwide " Villagers who Adhere to the Five Buddhist Precepts " project. This project is headed by the National Office of Buddhism under the jurisdiction of the NCPO in collaboration with development monks and works to solve national economic and environmental problems by correcting 'immoral' behavior at the level of the village community. I argue that this collaborative shift from working with neolocalist NGOs to almost exclusively working alongside government entities has resulted in a drastic shift in focus from the systematic moral failings of development practices, policies, and ideology to the creation 'moral communities' from which material development will naturally spring. This, in turn, portrays the failure to develop with moral failings at the village level while ignoring the larger system-level problems of which these 'moral failings' may be more symptom than cause. This research is based on fieldwork conducted in Northeast Thailand from 2013 to 2015, consisting of participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews with over 40 development monks as well as their lay collaborators. I particularly focus on monks involved in the Phaendin Tham Phaendin Thong network in the northeast. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dylan Southard is an American Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Osaka University's Department of Human Sciences. He has a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology from Osaka University and a Bachelor's in Philosophy from Gonzaga University in Washington State. He is currently researching development monks in northeast Thailand, and is especially interested in their role in the process of glocalization – giving local actors legibility on the global stage and access extralocal systems and resources, while still preserving local autonomy – and the political implications of these glocalizing practices. Currently he is focused on understanding the ways in which the state is able to appropriate the rhetoric and practices traditionally associated with anti-government localism in order to re-contextualize localist activism and ideology in a way that is consistent with specific nationalist narratives.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Report on the Seminar Cloth, Culture and Development, 2014
At the Social Research Institute (SRI) of Chiang Mai University, the Roundtable on Cloth, Culture... more At the Social Research Institute (SRI) of Chiang Mai University, the Roundtable on Cloth, Culture, and Development took place directly after the IIAS Summer School “Reading Craft: Itineraries of Culture, Knowledge and Power in the Global Ecumene.” While the Summer School focused mainly on scholarship, hands-on ethnographic-style exploration of craft making, and some current debates on the relationship between knowledge and power embedded in traditional craft practices, the Roundtable sought to understand that relationship from the diverse perspectives – those of scholars and museum professionals; of the practitioners themselves (private and non-governmental); as well as state officials engaged in artisanal cloth production and sale from the Thai-Lao region and other parts of Asia. The key sub-themes included: cultural value, design and technology, markets, production organization, raw materials, credit, regulations, sustainability, and transmission and training.
The importance of development strategies that emphasise local agency and authenticity has long be... more The importance of development strategies that emphasise local agency and authenticity has long been recognised, but these goals often preclude the access to the extralocal resources and knowledge s...
This research, based on fieldwork conducted Northeast Thailand with development monks and their l... more This research, based on fieldwork conducted Northeast Thailand with development monks and their lay collaborators, examines the contrasting practices and ideologies of Pra S in Loei province-who is working with villagers to oppose the construction of a nearby goldmine-and Pra Potiwirakun in Roi Et province-who, in a addition to turning his temple into a community center and ICT training facility, is a key player in the creation and maintenance of networks of development monks and outside actors. I discuss the ideological differences underpinning their sustainable development practices, which I refer to, respectively, as neolocalism and networked localism.
This paper examines the changing roles of monks in alternative development in northeast Thailand.... more This paper examines the changing roles of monks in alternative development in northeast Thailand. Specifically, it is an attempt to understand the relationship among development monks, NGOs, and the state in the context of localist development ideology and practice. When the phrase ‘development monk’ first entered the Thai lexicon, it was primarily used to refer to monks who engaged in social activism aimed at combatting state-led development policies. Support for these projects often came from localist NGOs, many of whom were anti-government. However, with the creation of the “People’s Constitution” and the passage of the National Decentralization Act in the late 1990s, the Thai government began adopting the language and symbols of localism in its own development strategies. I argue that this has worked to crowd out localist NGOs critical of government policy and has created a practical and symbolic ‘infrastructure’ that serves as the basis for future development activism. This has resulted in the ‘channeling’ of monastic development practice into state-initiated projects at the exclusion of others. This research is based on fieldwork conducted in Northeast Thailand from 2013 to 2015, consisting of participant observation and in- depth semi-structured interviews with development monks and their lay collaborators.
This paper explores the changing practices of development monks in northeast Thailand and the sym... more This paper explores the changing practices of development monks in northeast Thailand and the symbolic and ideological implications thereof. Specifically, it is an attempt to understand the ways in which development monks' collaboration with state entities has impacted the moral underpinnings of monastic development activism. The 'development monk' movement began 1960s as individual monks contesting state development practices in favor of those that adhere more closely to Buddhist teachings. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, development monks began forming networks and collaborating with neolocalist NGOs and activists in an effort to assert local autonomy and identity in the face of state development policy. However, since the creation of the " People's Constitution " and the passage of the National Decentralization Act in the late 1990s which led to the Thai government adopting the language and symbols of localism in its development strategies, there has been a large-scale withdrawal of NGO support from monastic development practice and an increase in monastic collaboration with government entities. There has been a corresponding shift in the practices of development monks from those that target economic and environmental policies to those that attempt to rein in 'vice,' such as drinking and gambling. With the recent coup, this trend has only accelerated as exemplified by the nationwide " Villagers who Adhere to the Five Buddhist Precepts " project. This project is headed by the National Office of Buddhism under the jurisdiction of the NCPO in collaboration with development monks and works to solve national economic and environmental problems by correcting 'immoral' behavior at the level of the village community. I argue that this collaborative shift from working with neolocalist NGOs to almost exclusively working alongside government entities has resulted in a drastic shift in focus from the systematic moral failings of development practices, policies, and ideology to the creation 'moral communities' from which material development will naturally spring. This, in turn, portrays the failure to develop with moral failings at the village level while ignoring the larger system-level problems of which these 'moral failings' may be more symptom than cause. This research is based on fieldwork conducted in Northeast Thailand from 2013 to 2015, consisting of participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews with over 40 development monks as well as their lay collaborators. I particularly focus on monks involved in the Phaendin Tham Phaendin Thong network in the northeast. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dylan Southard is an American Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Osaka University's Department of Human Sciences. He has a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology from Osaka University and a Bachelor's in Philosophy from Gonzaga University in Washington State. He is currently researching development monks in northeast Thailand, and is especially interested in their role in the process of glocalization – giving local actors legibility on the global stage and access extralocal systems and resources, while still preserving local autonomy – and the political implications of these glocalizing practices. Currently he is focused on understanding the ways in which the state is able to appropriate the rhetoric and practices traditionally associated with anti-government localism in order to re-contextualize localist activism and ideology in a way that is consistent with specific nationalist narratives.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Report on the Seminar Cloth, Culture and Development, 2014
At the Social Research Institute (SRI) of Chiang Mai University, the Roundtable on Cloth, Culture... more At the Social Research Institute (SRI) of Chiang Mai University, the Roundtable on Cloth, Culture, and Development took place directly after the IIAS Summer School “Reading Craft: Itineraries of Culture, Knowledge and Power in the Global Ecumene.” While the Summer School focused mainly on scholarship, hands-on ethnographic-style exploration of craft making, and some current debates on the relationship between knowledge and power embedded in traditional craft practices, the Roundtable sought to understand that relationship from the diverse perspectives – those of scholars and museum professionals; of the practitioners themselves (private and non-governmental); as well as state officials engaged in artisanal cloth production and sale from the Thai-Lao region and other parts of Asia. The key sub-themes included: cultural value, design and technology, markets, production organization, raw materials, credit, regulations, sustainability, and transmission and training.
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