Laos : from buffer state to crossroads? /

Pholsena (Institut d'Asie Orientale, Lyon, France) and Banomyong (Thammasat Univ., Bangkok) have produced an overview of international relations and development in Laos. The book relies to a large degree on previously published historical works and economic reports; it functions best as an overview of Laos for individuals who are otherwise unfamiliar with the country. The authors present obstacles to economic growth in Laos but offer no specific solutions. There is little exploration of the continuing weakness of the Laotian state and its lack of legitimacy due to its pursuit of the Vietnamese-derived communist model of socialist development in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The state's policies toward non-Lao ethnic groups such as the Hmong and the resettlement of highland populations to the lowland plains of the Mekong valley also deserve more attention. Given the authors' discussion of the high costs of exporting goods from Laos to and through Thailand and Vietnam despite highway construction and trade agreements, it seems unlikely that Laos will emerge as a crossroads for trade in mainland Southeast Asia in the foreseeable future. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, lower- and upper-division undergraduates. C. Raymond Elon University