Rituals of National Loyalty: An Anthropology of the State and the Village Scout Movement in Thailand

In the 1970s, the Village Scout movement arose in Thailand not only to counter a growing communist insurgency but also to intimidate anyone critical of the government. Rituals of National Loyalty explores this movement as a prime example of the deliberate use of mass psychology. This study bridges both the macro and micro levels of analysis to place the dynamics of a national political movement within a richly detailed understanding of its working at the village level.