Organizer: Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University
Type/Location: In Person / Ithaca, NY
Description:
Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Ian Baird, Professor of Geography and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Baird will discuss the enduring legacy of the House of Champassak, a royal lineage from southern Laos that has navigated centuries of political upheaval, from Thai vassalage and French colonialism to Lao independence and communist rule.
Abstract:
The House of Champassak was established, in 1713, by an important Buddhist monk from Vientiane named Phra Khou Phonsamek, who supported Chao Nokasat (Chao Soyisamouth), an estranged Vientiane royal, to become the first king of Champassak. However, Champassak only remained an independent sovereign power until 1778, when it was forced to become a vassal of Siam. Since then, the House of Champassak has always had to maneuver and negotiate to maintain varying degrees of sovereign power, whether it be with the Thais, Cambodians, French, the Royal Lao government, or others. In my new book, Champassak Royalty and Sovereignty (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025), I consider the ways that the House of Champassak has both asserted different sovereign claims and achieved diverse kinds of sovereign power—both formally and informally—and has developed different practices that have helped them obtain varying degrees of sovereign power. The book is not bounded by modern nation states, and therefore considers Champassak royals in Champassak-proper, in present-day southern Laos, but also in northeastern Thailand, northeastern Cambodia, and in Europe and North America, where most of the family has settled since the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Crucially, I argue that sovereignty is fundamentally contingent and always in flux, thus requiring constant efforts—either explicit or more subtle—to reinforce, construct and reproduce various fields of sovereignty.
About the Speaker:
Ian G. Baird is a Professor of Geography and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has various interests and mainly conducts research in Laos, Thailand and northeastern Cambodia. His recent books include Champassak Royalty and Sovereignty: Within and Between Nation-States in mainland Southeast Asia (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025), Thailand’s Volunteer Hill Tribe Militia (1970-1983): An Under- Recognized Anti-Communist Force (White Lotus Press, 2024), and Rise of the Brao: Ethnic Minorities in Northeastern Cambodia during Vietnamese Occupation (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020).
Registration:
To attend the event in person, please register here.