BOOK REVIEW:

Laos: Beyond the Revolution, eds. J J Zasloff and L Unger
(London: Macmillan, 1991).

Reviewd by: Phayvanh Phoumindr

The book resulted from a Conference entitled "Current Developments in Laos" which the authors organised in Washington, DC, on 4 May 1989, with the support of the Centre for the Study of Foreign Affairs of the Foreign Service Institute. This Conference was attended by more than 200 professionals who have special interest in Laos, including two representatives from the Lao government.

The book addresses issues relating to politics, economics, society, external relations and US policy towards Laos. The contributors were noted or recent scholars on Laos and former diplomats such as McAlistair Brown, Grant Evans, Wendy Batson, Ng Shui Meng, Martin Stuart-Fox, W. C. Robinson, A, J. Dommen, G. McMurtrie Godley and J. St Goar and D.F. Lambertson as well as J. Zasloff and L. Unger. Most of the authors are American with the exception of Evans, Stuart-Fox and Ng Shui Meng who are Australians and Singaporian respectively.

In the opening Chapter, Zasloff deals with political constraints on development by pointing out a cluster of problems which limit capacity of the Lao economy. He suggests that Laos' problem is not the lack of capital for development, because it has been receiving financial aid from international donors, but rather the capacity to put this funding to work. One of the reasons is due to its severe limitation in administrative competence and technical expertise. This comment is also consistently echoed in other chapters of the book.

Zasloff observes that "as a traditional society Laos was, until 1975, a conservative monarchy, dominated by a small number of powerful families. Now it is a communist oligarchy, but its social make-up remains the same" (p.4). This theme is discussed further in Chapter 6 by Ng Shui Meng in relation to education, health and women's social position in contemporary Laos. MacAlister Brown, in Chapter 2, offers some propositions on the politics of coalition-building, based on the Lao experiments with coalition government in 1957-8, 1962-3 and 1974-5. He also points out some striking similarities and contrasts between Laos and Czechoslovakia in this political process.

Chapter 3 is an aide-memoire prepared by the United Nations Development Program for the Round Table Meeting of donors which was convened in Geneva in 1989. This study offers some interesting figures on external aid disbursements from 1983 to 1987. It also examines some of the economic potentials of Laos, the country's principal limitations in the area of socio-economic development, and reviews government development strategies from 1975 to the present.

Grant Evans in the next Chapter focuses on a theoretical economic question faced by many underdeveloped countries, using Laos as case study. Evans' idea was rather different from other authors' in terms of Lao-Vietnamese economic thinking. He stated that "many authors, including several in this volume, argue that Lao economic thinking bears a strong Vietnamese imprint. I dissent from this view because I believe it can be demonstrated that there is nothing which distinguishes Vietnamese economic thinking form orthodox Stalinist communism. Both the Vietnamese and the Lao inherited this body of economic thought..." (p.86)

Wendy Batson examines the extent to which the highland minorities have been integrated into the new Lao state. In Chapter 6, she offers evidence that these minorities are being (slowly in my opinion) drawn into administrative structures at the district and even the at the provincial level. However, she suggests that this trend should increase in greater speed. She concludes that "if Laos is to become a nation state, with all that entails in terms of national identity and allegiance, the tribal minorities must be included" (p. 156)

Ng Shui Meng, a Singaporean sociologist, examines the Lao PDR record in health, education and the status of women. She observes the rapid expansion of education and health services but "these have been at the cost of quality". As for the status of women, a subject which has hardly been explored, she comments on the contradictions between the communist rhetoric about equality for women and the deep-seated socio- cultural values of Lao traditional society which help maintain women in their lower position. In my view, the issue needs to be studied in a lot more depth in order to provide a picture of Lao women in term of their role and contributions to the country.

Martin Stuart-Fox, an Australian historian, gives an overview of Lao Foreign policy, the relationship of the Lao government with its neighbouring countries ie Vietnam, China, Thailand, and potential aid- giving states. He notes on the `special relationship' between Laos and Vietnam that "while the relationship with Vietnam remains intact, its relative importance has been reduced". This is followed by a short statement by Saly Khamsy, Ambassador of Laos to India and the response by Pradap Pibulsonggram, Counsellor the Embassy of Thailand in Washington who attended the Conference. The relation between Laos and Thailand was rather tense at the time, and is well reflected in these diplomatic exchanges. In Chapter 9, Court Robinson reviews the Lao refugee problem with special attention to Thai and US policies, especially in the light of refugee-receiving countries closing their doors on the problem. Chapters 10, 11, 12 and 13 are devoted to US policy towards in historical perspective.

In summary, the book covers many aspects of post-1975 Laos, and provides an overall picture of the country, its development potentials and limitations, and other urgent issues which need to be treated as a priority such as education and health. The book would have benefited from the inclusion of a brief introductory chapter for readers who do not know Laos well. However, I strongly agree with the authors in this volume that there is a need to upgrade both the quantity and the quality of education and health services so that they are not only available in the capital of Vientiane and major townships, but also in the rural and remote highland areas. This is of crucial importance to the security of Laos and the allegiance of rural dwellers who form more than 80 per cent of the population.

The book discusses development issues based on Western economic standards. The readers should bear in mind that there are other local economic elements which have not been taken into account. In Laos, there may be activities such as mutual assistance in child care, crop harvesting, house construction and other types of commodities exchange which is not measurable and cannot be taken into account in economic terms. Another problem relates to the reliability of Lao official statistics. As one Lao official remarked at a recent foreign investment seminar, "foreign experts want statistics, we give them statistics". Generally, there is a discrepancy between figures provided by international organisations such as IMF and those given by the Lao government. This problem has to be borne in mind.

This book is recommended for those who wish to learn about Laos in depth. It is a publication by well-known scholars which aims at the experts. Novices on Laos may like to consider reading other introductory books as a pre-requisite.