Documenting Thai Citizenship
Blood, Sweat, and Tears Documenting Thai Citizenship By Robin Jan Hamilton-Coates Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Deakin University 2013 Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Documenting Thai Citizenship How has Thailand kept track of citizens and outsiders? Abstract How has Thailand kept track of citizens and outsiders? Thailand (Siam) has transformed ancient methods of keeping track of subjects, and adopted modern legislative principles using documentary evidence to discriminate between citizens and outsiders. In the process, it has shaped a complex hierarchical structure with differentiated overlapping layers of citizenship, where some groups exist beyond any legal space. At the same time, Thailand has evolved from a society where subjects paid tribute to sovereigns, into a democratic polity where entitlement is determined through identity documentation. In seeking to explain how Thailand documents citizenship, we must first consider the historical methods employed by Siamese sovereigns to keep track of subjects, including practices like tattooing, slavery, and bondage. The introduction of foreign ideas like territorial sovereignty and nationality superseded, but did not completely replace, all of these former practices. The interplay between these different ideas, and the aftermath of social changes caused by migration and conflict, established the boundaries of modern Thai citizenship. This thesis explores these issues by investigating attitudes to citizenship and access to social services in the Tai Yai1 (ไทยใหญ)่ , or Shan, community in Chiang Mai, to illustrate how methods of documentary surveillance impact on citizenship rights, and confirm the establishment of a differentiated citizenship model in Thailand. 1 A note on transliteration of the Thai language: Thai (ภาษาไทย) is the national and official language of Thailand.
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