This book by Tyrell Haberkorn from the University of Wisconsin Press was co-published with Silkworm Books. The author seeks to present how social movements for the justice and wellbeing of marginalized people, such as tenant farmers in Thailand, could be suppressed and driven out from politics by dominant forces such as landlords and state officials. It further seeks to document how the tenant farmers and their alliances, such as the Farmer Federation of Thailand (FFT), students, and progressive-wing activists attempted to challenge those dominant forces with demands for the enforcement of the Land Rent Control Act (LRCA) in 1950 and 1974.
The author selected this topic because she wishes to propose that the major cause of unrest in Thailand from the past to the present day is caused by injustice in society. The perspective of this work is the demands of the tenant farmers in the north of Thailand – especially in Chiang Mai and Lampoon provinces – which led to political conflict over land rent rates. The farmers attempted to use the law as a tool for controlling the land rent at the fairest level possible. Conversely, the landlords opposed the law and tried to defend their position by stating that the law was not appropriate for solving unjust land rent rates.
The author explains how farmers were able to utilize the law by showing that they employed two forms of action. The first was the letter submitted by tenant farmers from Saraphi district, Chiang Mai Province to the provincial governor calling for enforcement of the 1950 LRCA in order to control land rents by law, rather than by the traditional appreciation of rates by landlords as practiced in the ancient system. The second type of action was an informal process of education for tenant farmers carried on through collaboration between the Farmer Federation of Thailand (FFT), students, and progressive activists. This process attempted to inform farmers about the benefits of the 1973 LRCA, and how to use the law for protecting themselves from landlord exploitation through the unjust land rent rates.
The author proposes that these events were a “revolution” employing a method different from ordinary revolutions, and also different from that advocated by the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT). Rather than using guns or force as a tool, the author argues, this revolution turned to the law for bringing about social and political change, and its object was different as well: not to seize state power, but to try to protect farmers' interests and create their own new political consciousness.
However, neither form of action was able to succeed because of powerful opposition among landlords and state officers in the areas. According to the author's analysis, these power groups became seriously concerned about the threat to their interests and political position as a result of the farmers' actions, and attempted total obstruction of law enforcement through a series of violent actions, such as criticism, harassment, intimidation, and, ultimately, assassination of the leaders of the farmers' alliances.
The author argues that the revolution movements were demolished as a result of this series of counterattacks. Some of the alliances were captured or felt they had no choice but to join the CPT; thus, what the revolution envisaged never actually came about. Such a situation, the author concludes, is exactly as expressed by the book's title: “Revolution Interrupted”.
This book is intended for professors, academicians, graduate students, undergraduates, and political and political economy activists interested in injustice and unfairness in society, especially in Thailand. It proposes that the major reasons for political unrest in Thailand are injustice and unfairness, problems which have not yet been solved.
The author's decision to write this book from the viewpoint of farmers and their associations was done in order to make the reader understand the viewpoint of the dominated, rather than that of the dominant landlord factions, because it would show the other side of the actions that were thwarted, a side much less easy to access. Therefore, the content of this book is well suited for audiences interested in the field of human rights and social justice because it is successful in reflecting the facts, clearly and thoroughly, from the perspective of politics and law.
This book is based on original Thai language sources, both documents and informants. The author has attempted to seek out resources with data and information representing the forcefulness of the discourse used. For example, she has translated Thai language messages from both national and local newspapers and dialogues, and interviewed Thai informants. Further, the author has been able to integrate her data with concepts and theories. That is, she uses concrete information to support conceptual arguments, enabling the reader to understand her analyses and conclusions about injustice, revolution, and counter-revolution in Thai society.
This book's contents are divided into series of coherent essays, from the Introduction to the Conclusion. The author has succeeded in a careful reorganization of the content in accordance with the book's objectives, which gives the reader a systematic understanding of her ideas. She begins with an account of all materials to show why the revolution occurred, then moves to the actions of counterrevolution which resulted in the interrupted revolution. Finally, the author discusses some violence in the present day that shows the same pattern as the interruptions in the past.
This book is very useful for all audiences because it encourages rethinking revolution in Thai society. It has presented a great deal of evidence which has hardly ever been exposed before. This evidence informs the reader about the causes, procedures, and results of both revolutions as viewed from the ground, much of which has never been recognized. Therefore, the substance in this book can give readers substantial new information to enable them to revise their opinions about revolution in Thailand, and make their understanding clearer and more useful than hitherto.
The author has used several methods to develop the content in each chapter. Firstly, she uses the method of simple narration to introduce specific situations, making the reader aware of the background of the stories. After that, she uses descriptive methods to explain causes and effects. Then, she uses the method of exposition to uncover the processes which allow analysis of the cause–effect relationships. Finally, she uses the method of argumentation to refute myths of revolution and counter-revolutions.
One can evaluate this book according to four criteria: accuracy; objectivity; thoroughness; and usefulness. Firstly, in terms of accuracy, the book scores highly because the author can use Thai language fluently. Considering that the bibliography includes many Thai language resources, it is clear that she can understand data and information very well.
However, in terms of objectivity, the author has presented the story in such a way that the book is crucially shaped by the views of the tenant farmers and their alliances. In other words, the main target of criticism is the domination of landlords and state officials. One must conclude that this book has not been written objectively.
In terms of thoroughness, the author has been punctilious in selecting information from all sources, particularly in the Thai language. The author has made a substantial effort to use information in Thai to explain and analyze events. So, the substance of this book is indeed representative.
Finally, this book has succeeded in giving a profound account of the causes of political conflicts in Thailand concealed from view by the other truths propounded by the Thai state. The knowledge conveyed by this book can send significant signals to Thai society, particularly in regard to the unsolved problems lingering since the 1950 LRCA. It can make readers perceive the relationship between injustice and revolution quite well, and it demonstrates that revolutions are inevitable as long as injustice and impeded democratic consciousness remain unresolved. Of course, even these problems can be swept aside by violent methods, as described in this book, but such countermeasures can only be temporary. As long as unjust and unequal relationships have not been alleviated, they can always be raised again and again as principal issues requiring revolution.
Therefore, the most important contribution of this book is that the author attempts to persuade all audiences to think again about alternative means to respond to the need of marginal people in society for a more just and equal relationship with other groups, particularly the dominant groups at the core of society such as capitalists and state officers.
