How do external threats to state sovereignty benefit local development? In this paper, we look at Thailand’s railroad projects in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries as an example of a state’s strategic response to colonial encroachment. By transporting government officials and establishing a permanent administrative presence, the railways served to ensure Thailand’s sovereignty over peripheral regions and bring them under direct governance. These regions, long considered economically unviable and disconnected from Bangkok, gained rail access due to their strategic importance and, in turn, witnessed urbanization and increased agricultural production.

中文翻译：

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改革、铁路和稻米：泰国的政治铁路和地方发展


对国家主权的外部威胁如何有利于地方发展？在本文中，我们将 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初泰国的铁路项目视为一个国家对殖民侵略做出战略反应的一个例子。通过运送政府官员和建立永久的行政存在，铁路有助于确保泰国对周边地区的主权并将其置于直接治理之下。这些地区长期以来被认为在经济上不可行且与曼谷脱节，由于其战略重要性，它们获得了铁路通道，反过来，见证了城市化和农业产量的增加。