REVISITING THAILAND'S PARANOIA: SEATO AS A SAFEGUARD AGAINST VIETNAM SYNDROME

Tauseef  Javed; Sun  Jiandang; Ayisha  Khurshid

doi:10.54690/margallapapers.27.1.157

Authors

Tauseef Javed Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR), Islamabad
Sun Jiandang Fujian Normal University Fuzhou, China
Ayisha Khurshid National University of Science and Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54690/margallapapers.27.1.157

Keywords:

SEATO, Vietnam Syndrome, Cold War, Foreign Policy, Southeast Asia.

Abstract

During the Cold War, the opposing stances of the US and USSR caused a bipolar global system that lacked a unipolar centre of power, leading to a stronger centrifugal pull. The Vietnam War made Southeast Asia a hotbed for these tensions. Following the fall of French troops in Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the US aimed to solidify its position and successfully created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) through the efforts of Secretary of State Dulles and like-minded nations. To explain the political implications, the Michael Brecher geographical framework has been chosen. This framework highlights the dominant and subordinate systems of international relations during the Cold War period and describes the operation and evolution of SEATO. By incorporating guidelines into the charter, the treaty zone became a space where signatories could resolve their issues. This reference framework helps to identify the causal determinant in the stimuli of an individual signatory. Despite being a group of countries with varied interests, the interaction between the US and Thailand during the Vietnam War showed that Thailand's skilful aggregation of marginal gains resulted from its inherent paranoia against the Vietnam syndrome. Furthermore, the study reveals that Thailand had a significant influence in shaping Washington's policy for Southeast Asia and used its gains as a launching pad to control the spread of Communism.

Bibliography Entry

Javed, Tauseef, Sun Jiandang and Ayisha Khurshid. 2023. "Revisiting Thailand's Paranoia: SEATO As a Safeguard Against Vietnam Syndrome." Margalla Papers 27 (1): 138-154.

Author Biographies

Tauseef Javed, Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR), Islamabad

Dr Tauseef Javed holds PhD degree from the School of Social History, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China and is a Research Associate at the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR), Islamabad.

Sun Jiandang , Fujian Normal University Fuzhou, China

Dr Sun Jiandang is a Professor in the School of Social History at the Fujian Normal University Fuzhou, China.

Ayisha Khurshid, National University of Science and Technology

Dr Ayisha Khurshid holds a PhD degree in English and American Studies from Karl Franzens University of Graz, Austria and is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Balochistan Campus.

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