| Summary/Abstract |
From the early Cold War, U.S. aid poured into Thailand. This flow of money, people, and expertise had a profound impact on the country’s social, political, and economic development. Payments and support to the Thai military proved instrumental in securing the power of Thailand’s authoritarian military leaders, while the proliferation of U.S.-funded road and infrastructure programs helped expand the control of the Thai state from the capital into rural areas.1 More broadly, U.S. support laid the foundations for a development trajectory that, while furnishing the country with impressive economic growth, hugely benefitted Thailand’s capitalist and royalist elite.2 Despite the implications of such payments, this article argues that during the 1960s, U.S. aid was subtlety recast into gifts of tribute that increased the legitimacy of the young King Bhumibol in the eyes of the Thai public.
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