| Heritage and the Making of Political Legitimacy in Laos: The Past and Present of the Lao Nation Contributor(s): Wilcox, Phill (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 9463727027 ISBN-13: 9789463727020 Publisher: Amsterdam University Press OUR PRICE: $119.79 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2021 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - Southeast Asia - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Communism, Post-communism & Socialism - Political Science | Political Economy |
| Physical Information: 190 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Lao People's Democratic Republic is nearly fifty years old, and one of the few surviving one-party socialist states. Nearly five decades on from its revolutionary birth, the Lao population continues to build futures in and around a political landscape that maintains socialist rhetoric on one hand and capitalist economics on the other. Contemporary Lao politics is marked by the use of cultural heritage as a source of political legitimacy. Researched through long term detailed ethnography in the former royal capital of Luang Prabang, itself a UNESCO recognised World Heritage Site since 1995, this book takes a fresh look at issues of legitimacy, heritage and national identity for different members of the Lao population. It argues that the political system has become sufficiently embedded to avoid imminent risk of collapse but suggests that it is facing new challenges primarily in the form of rising Chinese influence in Laos. |
