Ideology, Memory, and Silence: Thai Studies under Cold War Historiography in China

Between the 1950s and 1970s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) maintained contact and cooperation with the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) through multiple channels. The CPT received material support, political training, and ideological guidance from China, particularly from bases in Yunnan Province. Using the development of Thai Studies in China as a case study, this article examines how Chinese academia has engaged with—or avoided—the Cold War history of Thailand. Through a critical review of the field, it identifies structural tensions shaped by political sensitivity and institutional constraints, situating these dynamics within the broader context of Southeast Asian studies. Such constraints influence topic selection, access to sources, and publication practices, resulting in a field characterized by narrowed perspectives, uneven critical engagement, and structurally constrained academic autonomy. In this sense, Thai Studies in China reflects a paradoxical trajectory in which the field has been repeatedly shaped, disrupted, and revived by shifting political imperatives rather than by autonomous scholarly inquiry.