Abstract
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (hereafter Laos) is one of the Least Developed Countries in Southeast Asia. Its 7 million population consists of 49 ethnic groups which speak 85 languages. Ethnic Lao, which accounts for about half of the population dominates the country’s economy and politics and most of the other ethnic groups live in remote areas of Laos. The dominant ethnic imagination of Laos with Ethnic Lao’s language and culture in its centre has existed since the establishment of the one-party communist government in 1975. However, the details and intensity of the imagination have changed over time. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union who had financially supported the country, the government had to seek assistance from countries who had been considered their imperialist enemies. This has forced the government to shift their national unification strategies from focusing on the communist goals of anti-imperialism and social revolution to emphasizing nationalism based on Ethnic Lao’s language and culture. Since then, the Lao government’s predominant focus on its ethnic minorities had been ‘modernizing’ them through assimilation into Lao culture. While superficial, the government had provided special assistance to ethnic minorities, through, for example, assigning ethnic quarters and scholarship support on university entrance. However, after my research field trip in 2018, which involved interviews with policy-makers, donor agencies, and teachers, I have discovered significant changes in the government’s ethnic vision. Moving from its imagined society where all ethnic groups, with Ethnic Lao in the centre, live in harmony, the government now seems to idealize a country where there is no ethnic division and every member is given the same opportunities. My research has found that this seemingly inclusive and equitable new imagination, paradoxically, has barred the country from moving into a more inclusive and equitable society for ethnic minorities. As the assistance to ethnic minorities has been abolished, ethnic minorities who have been already marginalized politically, economically, and educationally are required to compete with ethnic Lao on equal terms, which further lowers their chances of upward mobility.