US anthropologist makes analysis of region spanning upland Southeast Asia From stateless hills to modern challenges

James C. Scott, a prominent American anthropologist and political scientist, made significant contributions to our understanding of stateless societies and their interactions with the surrounding nation-states, his groundbreaking work focused on Zomia, a region spanning upland Southeast Asia, and explored how its inhabitants have historically resisted and navigated state power.

Asian seaports such as Shanghai, Busan, and Singapore are emblematic of globalization, trade, and integration, connecting producers and consumers across the globe at unprecedented speeds, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

These bustling hubs are vital to the modern world’s economic framework.

In stark contrast, the continent’s highlands tell a different story. These remote regions have long resisted government control, formal economies, and centralized power. James C. Scott, an influential American anthropologist and political scientist who passed away on July 19th at the age of 87, explored this history in his work on Zomia. This area, covering upland Southeast Asia—including parts of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and extending into southwestern China and northeastern India—has largely remained outside the reach of state power.

Scott approached the world not as a staunch opponent of government but with a critical eye on how state power is both established and contested. His insights shed light on the enduring resilience of these highland societies against centralized authority.

Both political left and right libertarians, including the guest columnist here, have long engaged with James C. Scott’s unique scholarship. His 1998 work, Seeing Like a State, remains a standout for its examination of the unintended consequences of government interventions across various domains. The Art of Not Being Governed (2009) offers a concise summary of his studies on Southeast Asia's highlands, while Against the Grain (2017) delves into how agriculture has historically been leveraged as a means of control.

Zomia was an ideal subject for Scott's analytical lens. He argued that the lifestyles and social structures of the region’s inhabitants were shaped by their resistance to the encroaching powers of states such as China, Burma, and Thailand. The local economies relied on “escape crops” that thrived in poor soil and required minimal labor, aiding their evasion of centralized control.

Though Scott observed a trend toward greater state influence in Zomia, elements of its lawlessness endure. Take Dali in Yunnan province, China—a relatively relaxed area in an increasingly authoritarian state. Despite a government crackdown on cannabis and magic mushrooms, these substances remain resiliently present, illustrating the region’s enduring resistance to control.

The lawlessness in Zomia can sometimes take on darker forms. During the 1980s, Khun Sa, a notorious drug lord and military leader from Myanmar's Shan state, controlled up to half of the world's heroin supply. A former member of the Chinese Kuomintang—defeated by Mao Zedong’s communists—Khun Sa might have been as infamous as Pablo Escobar had he operated in a more globally connected region. Today, much of Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict centers around these turbulent borderlands.

Interestingly, some of the region's anarchic qualities have evolved into formalized structures in unusual ways. The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in northern Laos and eastern Myanmar, though a far cry from the historical highland societies, blend the region's traditional disorder with the encroaching influence of officialdom. These zones, heavily funded by Chinese investments under the Belt and Road Initiative, have become centers of corruption rather than stability. They are rife with gambling, money laundering, and trafficking in humans and wildlife.

Moreover, the rise of scam compounds in these SEZs reflects a new facet of Zomia's lawlessness. Promising work and opportunities to individuals worldwide, these operations enslave their victims, forcing them to run online scams and defraud people globally. In this way, Zomia’s chaotic nature is increasingly impacting the broader world.

Mr. Scott accurately observed that the integration of Zomia into the surrounding nation-states is well underway. Advances in transport and communication technology have made this transformation virtually inevitable. However, he also emphasized that the anarchic highlands and the orderly lowlands were not merely in opposition but were complementary. Each offered something valuable to the other—whether benign or harmful. Understanding this dynamic requires the perspective of an anarchist squint, which remains a crucial tool for analyzing the region's complex interplay. This insight is a lasting testament to Mr. Scott’s influential work.