In this Book
- Bounding the Mekong: The Asian Development Bank, China, and Thailand
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: University of Hawai'i Press
Glassman makes the case for adopting a class-based approach to analysis of GMS development, regionalization, and actually existing globalization. First he analyzes the interests and actions of various Thai participants in GMS development, then the roles of different Chinese actors in GMS integration. He next provides two cases illustrating the serious limits of any notion that GMS integration is a relatively egalitarian process—Laos’ participation in GMS development and the role of migrant Burmese workers in the production of the GMS. He finds that Burmese migrant workers, dam-displaced Chinese and Laotian villagers, and economically-stressed Thai farmers and small businesses are relative "losers" compared to the powerful business interests that shape GMS integration from locations like Bangkok and Kunming, as well as key sites outside the GMS like Beijing, Singapore, and Tokyo. The final chapter blends geographical-historical analysis with an assessment of uneven development and actually existing globalization in the GMS.
Cogent and persuasive, Bounding the Mekong will attract attention from the growing number of scholars analyzing globalization, neoliberalism, regionalization, and multiple scales of governance. It is suitable for graduate courses in geography, political science, and sociology as well as courses with a regional focus.
17 illus., 7 maps
Table of Contents
- List of Figures, Maps, and Tables
- pp. vii-viii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-xii
- Abbreviations
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Note on Terminology
- pp. xvii-xviii
- Prologue May 2008
- pp. 1-2
- Chapter 5. Going West, by Southwest
- pp. 99-135
- Chapter 6. Harnessing Resources and Labor
- pp. 136-158
- Chapter 7. Bounding the Mekong
- pp. 159-168
- Epilogue July 2008
- pp. 169-170
- Bibliography
- pp. 177-194