via SSRN, 07 June 2023: This paper explores how Southeast Asia’s diverse cultural policies and heritage practices are influenced by colonial legacies, including in non-colonised Thailand.
Cultural policies in Southeast Asia are as diverse as the multitude of ethnic groups in the region. With the exception of Thailand, until the Second World War, Southeast Asia consisted of protectorates or colonies, controlled by Britain, France, and the Netherlands, with the Philippines under US influence. For the most part, research schools and contemporary cultural heritage practices in these countries have their roots in colonial times. Although Thailand escaped direct colonisation, European influence seeped in through the demarcation of border lands claimed by France and Britain. This essay discusses research institutions and cultural heritage policies in Southeast Asia by reference to colonial legacies in relation to non-colonised Thailand.
