Administration, Border Zones and Spatial Practices in the Mekong Subregion Dennis Arnold A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Geography. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by: Dr. John Pickles Dr. Altha Cravey Dr. Michael Hardt Dr. Kevin Hewison Dr. Wendy Wolford i © 2010 Dennis Arnold ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT DENNIS ARNOLD: Administration, Border Zones and Spatial Practices in the Mekong Subregion (Under the direction of John Pickles) This dissertation focuses on transformations in border-based economic zones in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The political and economic processes building border economies in the GMS over the past 10-20 years shed light on the politics of scale and the ways in which states do and do not seek to link territories and citizens with the political dynamics, economic systems, labor and natural resources of neighboring countries. Mechanisms of global economic management, regulation and control are a fragile, eclectic mixture. Governance networks comprising state practices, labor regimes, globalized production networks and multilateral agencies are creating spaces for capital accumulation in the borderlands of the GMS. I find that no one actor can independently configure and maintain the geo-economic and geo-political re-ordering taking place in the GMS. This is largely due to the fact that space making is never only about locking in capital, but also about shaping a range of political desires through spatial reconfigurations that offer new opportunities for profit and power. From this perspective space is multiple and contingent, and global and situated elements combine to create new forms of spatial administration to control feminized and migrant labor. The different forms these take along the GMS borderlands offers insight into changing global-local governance structures and practices. iii ACKNOWLEDEGMENTS Brevity is difficult when writing acknowledgements for this project. I have attempted to narrow the field to the people who played a significant role in the completion of this dissertation. Needless to say, it has been difficult to keep the acknowledgments shorter than the eight chapters that follow. The normal sets of disclaimers apply—I am sorry for not including all of the names of those who have helped me out with this dissertation in one way or another, and I am responsible for any errors in fact or analysis. First, I thank my father who passed away a few weeks before writing these acknowledgements. I am happy that he lived to see his youngest child become a doctor, the first in our family. He was proud of me for this accomplishment, as he always was, and I‘m proud of him for always encouraging me to pursue whatever it is that makes me happy. Sometimes the hardest thing is to let go, but he did that for me when I wanted to live years of my life in places far away from home. Since I can remember my mom has taken great interest in whatever it is that I‘m doing. Thanks mom for always being supportive, for being strong through the difficult times, and for passing on your love of books. Julie de los Reyes has given me a reason to strive for something better for myself and the world. Not only has she been my best friend, intellectual companion and lover, but also my editor, proofreader, walking-talking bibliography, IT support, psychoanalyst, iv councilor, advisor and the list goes on. I would not have made it through graduate school without her. I spent several years working on my dissertation topic before entering UNC. I cannot say enough for what Dae-oup Chang and Junya ‗Lek‘ Yimprasert have done for me as friends, offering guidance and inspiration. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to Kong Athit and Monina Wong. I would not have been able to conduct much of the fieldwork for this dissertation without people I came to know through you all. In particular, I thank Asia Monitor Resource Centre, Burma Labour Solidarity Organisation, Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers‘ Democratic Union, Thai Labour Campaign, Womyn‘s Agenda for Change and Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association. Peter Bell, Dae- oup, Lae Dilokvitharat, Kevin Hewison and Sriprapha Petcharamesre are the people I thank (or at times blame) for initiating the thought that I should further my education. Peter was especially helpful in seeing me through the difficult transitional years. During dissertation fieldwork I met with and interviewed too many people to mention here (Appendix 1). I am particularly grateful to Voravidh Charoenloet who set off a chain reaction of amazing access to people in Thailand and Cambodia. Many people were gracious with their time, sharing information and generally taking an interest, including Masato Abe, Peter Brimble, Hean Sopauline, Larry Kao, Kimlong Chheng, Martin Gainsborough, Bent Gehrt, Kyoko Kusakabe, Eddy Malesky, Bruno Maltoni, Moe Swe, Noritada Morita, Orn Nan, Phil Robertson, Sopheap Sao (and everyone at WAC), Than Doke, Geoff Thant, Thein Swe, and many, many others. My time at UNC was fairly brief, but along the way I met some great people. Joseph Palis and Matt Reilly, more than anyone, talked me through the ups and downs of v grad student life, and I can‘t thank them enough. I worked closely with Annelies Goger on projects for several years and I learned a lot from her. John Pickles and Linda Quiquivix stepped in for me when I needed help during my father‘s illness and passing, as did Nell Phillips, Barbara Taylor Davis and Dan Warfield, all of whom have been kind and generous throughout my time at UNC. At UNC I took many great classes with Altha Cravey, John Pickles, Tom Whitmore and Wendy Wolford, and I thank Arturo Escobar and Larry Grossberg for letting me sit in on portions of their courses. At Duke University I had the good fortune of taking courses with Frederic Jameson and Bai Gao, in addition to sitting in on a course with Michael Hardt. My time working as an RA on the project ‗‗The Geographical Consequences of the End of Quota Constrained Trade in the Global Apparel Industry,‘‘ led by John Pickles and Meenu Tewari at UNC, Gary Gereffi at Duke, and Adrian Smith at Queen Mary, University of London was a great learning experience. I have had many opportunities to present my work at conferences and workshops while at UNC. One of particular importance came a few weeks before beginning fieldwork, the ―Contemporary Thailand Workshop‖ hosted by the Carolina Asia Center and Royal Thai Embassy at UNC-Chapel Hill in November 2008. The participants, including many of the top Thai studies scholars in the world, provided useful comments. In particular, Pitch Pongsawat, whose fingerprints are found throughout my work on Thailand in this dissertation. I came to Chapel Hill to work with an amazingly brilliant, caring and thoughtful source of positive energy known as John Pickles. John sets very high standards for mentoring and scholarship. I cannot count the number of draft chapters and articles he vi has read, his office door and/or email inbox was constantly open, and with ease he talked me out of my many panic moments when writing this dissertation. Most importantly, I feel that I am a better person for having known and worked so closely with John for four years. Kevin Hewison has been my second (unofficial) advisor and friend for many years. I came to Chapel Hill on his advice, and have been very fortunate to work closely with him. I can‘t thank him enough for all the time he has spent with me and my work. Jim Glassman was not on my dissertation committee, but in many ways his name should appear on the list. His activism and work has guided me, though after reading this dissertation he may argue that I got lost along the way! My dissertation committee comprised five top notch scholars: Altha Cravey, Michael Hardt, Kevin Hewison, John Pickles and Wendy Wolford. Their questions, comments, guidance, interest and suggestions are much appreciated. Most of all, I thank them for helping me to see that this dissertation is important, but is a work in progress. I will take their thoughts and build something that moves in and beyond this current form. A good dissertation, as they reminded me several times, is one that provides at least 5-10 years of unanswered questions and interests to pursue. You helped me achieve that, thank you all. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 Governing a Geo-economic Subregion .................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 The Thesis ..................................................................................................................... 7 Introducing the Case Studies ................................................................................................ 9 Literature Review and Conceptual Framework .......................................................... 23 Outlining the Chapters ................................................................................................ 34 Research Questions and Methods ..............................................................................