Books

SINCE JANUARY 2004, the three Muslimdominated provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in the Thai south hwe been ablaze with political violence. Early incidents such as the bloody storming of the historic KN-Ze mosque, and the death of 78 Tak Bai protestors at the hands of the army made global headlines. But most of thesubsequent events have gone largely unnaticed despiie a terrikcatalogw of ‘daily killings’. The Thaksin Shinawatra government’s persistent mishandling of the southern violence was a key factor behind theSeptember 2006 military cwp d’etat the biggest political upheaval in Thailand sim the early 1990s.

This collection by Thai and international scholars examim the reasons behind the unrest in south Thailand from a variety of perspectives. The contributors all reject the simplistic ktras of ‘terrorism experts’, and call for a more nuanced, subtle wrd critical readins of events. Their topics include the politual meanings of history and monuments, the ambiguous role of the Thaksin gowmment alternative explanations of the violence, the salience of political klam, the voices of ordinary people in Pattani, and the mkleading paradigms pf the insecurity industry. This book will change the way the south Thailand conflict is understood.