The Stateless Tai Lue in Chiang Kham

Abstract

The Tai Lue in Chiang Kham have been of interest to scholars since the publications of Michael Moerman, an American anthropologist from the University of California in Los Angeles, in the 1960s. The most notable pieces concern ethnic identity since Moerman focused on both the internal and external relations of the Tai Lue. Later scholars and graduate students focused on tourism among the Tai Lue, due to the revival of their history and the construction of their ethnic identity. However, the issue of statelessness among them has still not been examined, even though countless numbers of Tai Lue still live without Thai citizenship. Therefore, this article deals with the issue of stateless Tai Lue in Chiang Kham, based on our fieldwork in 2013-2015. We find that the consequences of the creation of modern nation-states and Thailand’s strict national security policies have led to a lack of citizenship among countless numbers of Tai Lue in Chiang Kham, despite their exceptional service to Thailand’s national security during the Cold War. Keywords: Tai Lue, Stateless, Displaced Thai, Citizenship