For anyone who knows their views on the Deep South, you will know they differ (see the comments in this post at New Mandala for a brief explanation). Askew's shorter book was released in 2007 and is entitled "Conspiracy, Politics, and a Disorderly Border: The Struggle to Comprehend Insurgency in Thailand’s Deep South" (as briefly reviewed here). McCargo's book, TEARING APART THE LAND : Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand was then released last year.

So here is some reading - the first two articles are available for free, but the third requires an academic subscription.

First, Duncan McCargo, The Politics of Buddhist identity in Thailand’s deep south: The Demise of civil religion?, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 40(1), pp 11–32 February 2009. Available from here. Abstract:

This article sets out to criticise arguments by scholars such as Charles Keyes and Donald Swearer, who have framed their readings of Thai Buddhism through a lens of ‘civic’ or ‘civil’ religion. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in the southern border provinces, the paper argues that religious tolerance is declining in Thailand, and that anti-Muslim fears and sentiments are widespread among Buddhists. Some southern Buddhists are now arming themselves, and are creating militia groups in the face of growing communal violence. In the rest of Thailand, hostility towards Muslims, coupled with growing Buddhist chauvinism, is being fuelled by developments in the south.

Second, Marc Askew, Landscapes of fear, horizons of trust: Villagers dealing with danger in Thailand’s insurgent south, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 40(1), pp 59–86 February 2009. Available from here. Abstract:

Thai Buddhist and Malay Muslim neighbours in Thailand’s Muslim-majority deep south face the challenge of managing everyday life in the midst of an enigmatic insurgency where both ethno-religious groups are victims of violence, but where the assailants are difficult to identify. This ethnographically-focused paper examines horizons of trust and suspicion as villagers confront threats to their safety, negotiate state authorities and encounter broader narratives about identity, allegiance and enemies. Although fear and suspicion sparked by the current violence have generated Buddhist–Muslim tensions in localities, neighbourhoods and village leaders also actively resist the multiple threats to their relationships and to inter-ethnic coexistence.

Then, the final article, Duncan McCargo, Mapping National Anxieties: Thailand's Southern Conflict, RUSI, Jul 2009, Vol. 154, No. 3. Abstract:

The ongoing militancy in the Deep South of Thailand is more than a bout of separatist violence: it represents a cultural conflict that strikes at the heart of the Thai nation. Bangkok faces a serious legitimacy deficit in the region, but has failed to address disengagement from, and antipathy towards, the national myths and symbols that depict a country united by a single religion and an ageing monarch. Soothing the tensions will ultimately require a political solution. Duncan McCargo argues that the current insurgency marks a watershed moment: the time to act is now.

BP: For those with a subscription, it can be downloaded from here.

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