Based on ethnographic research in Ruam Chai, a large and remote village in northern Thailand, this dissertation seeks to examine the emergence of ethnic identity and nationalistic consciousness of the Tai people within the context of Thai nation-building, state development, and the history of the area in the 20th century. The Tai—generally known as the Shan—are the predominant residents of this multi-ethnic frontier community, once occupied by the notorious opium warlord, Khun Sa, prior to absolute control and administration by the Thai state in 1982. These people migrated from various areas of Myanmar’s Shan State over different periods of time, for a variety of reasons. Due to their illegal immigration, the Thai state classifies them into different non-citizenship statuses according to their migration background as well as survey and registration periods. As a result of recent revisions of the Thai Nationality Act, the documented Thailand-born offspring of these displaced Tai, whose parents’ statuses fall into certain non-Thai categories, meet the nominal requirements for becoming naturalised. Within the theoretical framework of constructivist approach and the notion of ethnic dynamism and nationalistic sentiments as a cultural practice in borderlands, this dissertation suggests the investigation of the Tai ethno-nationalism through three interconnected levels of analysis: village or community, national, and transborder. On the village level, while the Tai acknowledge their ethnic diversity and have a logical, conventional system of identification among themselves; they maintain ethnic boundaries amid interactions with village members of other ethnic origins, and (re)construct identities in response to both internal and external forces. On the national level, a nation-building process has induced a stronger sense of “being Thai” to both Thailand-born Tai children and pre-existing generations of Tai. This process emphasises ethnic homogeneity—through the employment of the Thainess concept—and exclusion of the Non-Thai from the Thai, where categorically ineligible Tai are driven to embrace outlawed conduct to secure Thai citizenship. On the transborder level, movements back and forth as well as relationships across various international borders have played a vital role in constructing Tai identity and imagining the nation of the Tai people, both in Ruam Chai and beyond.

Based on ethnographic research in Ruam Chai, a large and remote village in northern Thailand, this dissertation seeks to examine the emergence of ethnic identity and nationalistic consciousness of the Tai people within the context of Thai nation-building, state development, and the history of the area in the 20th century. The Tai—generally known as the Shan—are the predominant residents of this multi-ethnic frontier community, once occupied by the notorious opium warlord, Khun Sa, prior to absolute control and administration by the Thai state in 1982. These people migrated from various areas of Myanmar’s Shan State over different periods of time, for a variety of reasons. Due to their illegal immigration, the Thai state classifies them into different non-citizenship statuses according to their migration background as well as survey and registration periods. As a result of recent revisions of the Thai Nationality Act, the documented Thailand-born offspring of these displaced Tai, whose parents’ statuses fall into certain non-Thai categories, meet the nominal requirements for becoming naturalised. Within the theoretical framework of constructivist approach and the notion of ethnic dynamism and nationalistic sentiments as a cultural practice in borderlands, this dissertation suggests the investigation of the Tai ethno-nationalism through three interconnected levels of analysis: village or community, national, and transborder. On the village level, while the Tai acknowledge their ethnic diversity and have a logical, conventional system of identification among themselves; they maintain ethnic boundaries amid interactions with village members of other ethnic origins, and (re)construct identities in response to both internal and external forces. On the national level, a nation-building process has induced a stronger sense of “being Thai” to both Thailand-born Tai children and pre-existing generations of Tai. This process emphasises ethnic homogeneity—through the employment of the Thainess concept—and exclusion of the Non-Thai from the Thai, where categorically ineligible Tai are driven to embrace outlawed conduct to secure Thai citizenship. On the transborder level, movements back and forth as well as relationships across various international borders have played a vital role in constructing Tai identity and imagining the nation of the Tai people, both in Ruam Chai and beyond.