Scott And Others On History In The Southeast Asian Uplands: A Review Essay

James Scott's The Art of Not Being Governed is likely to rival Leach's Political Systems of Highland Burma for the distinction of being the most influential title on history and society in the uplands of Southeast Asia. Scott's sustained emphasis on hostile highland/lowland relations through historical time is questioned. It is suggested that the internal dynamics of upland societies, which have a large ethnographic literature, need also to synthesized in their own right and not only in relation to the lowland states.