Attempting to Build the State of Exception from the State’s Implementation of Laws by the Hmong in Thailand

Abstract

While the existing literature on the monarchy of Thailand and the so called “Hill tribe” during the reign of King Rama IX mainly portrayed the hill tribe passively as “recipients” or “subjects” to the royal development programs, this paper shows the agency of this prominent group who has been attempting to establish their relationship with the Thai monarchy, the leading source of power in Thai society since late 1950s. Certainly, the attempts of connecting with the monarchy have been taken place greater in various forms when the King Rama IX and the royal family members began to pay lesser attention to them since the end of Cold World era. The occasion of King Rama IX's death in 2016 therefore served them a channel to associate themselves with the King Rama IX. Despite other the ethnic groups, the study concerns mainly about the Hmong. It is argued that the effort of the Hmong in associating themselves with the monarchy is a making of a state of exception from being governed by the state’s regular laws.