Martin Stuart–fox
Biographic Data
| ID | 4792004 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martin Stuart–fox |
| GIVEN NAMES | Martin |
| FAMILY NAME | Stuart–fox |
| SIGNATURE | FOX M S |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Queensland |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3535-3087 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 43 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 66 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 43 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1979 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Forsaken Causes: Liberal Democracy and Anticommunism in Cold War Laos, by Ryan Wolfson-Ford
Major Transitions in Human Evolutionary History
Eörs Szathmáry and John Maynard Smith famously argued that the evolution of life on earth has been marked by a series of transitions to greater complexity, the last being from primate to human societies. I argue that this last transition, covering all of human evolutionary history, in turn comprises two phases: the first defined by increases in the capacity of the human brain/mind to structurally integrate causal inferences and selectively apply …
Rethinking the Evolution of Culture and Cognitive Structure
Two recent attempts to clarify misunderstandings about the nature of cultural evolution (Henrich et al., 2008; Gabora, 2011) came to very different conclusions, based on very different understandings of what evolves and how. This paper begins by examining these two ‘clarifications’ in order to reveal their key differences, and goes on to rethink how culture evolves by focussing on the role of cognitive structure, or worldview
Constructing a Selectionist Paradigm
In his latest contribution to the application of Darwinian evolutionary thinking to the social sciences, W. G. Runciman conceives of human behavior as resulting from three levels of selection-biological, cultural, and social. These give rise, respectively, to evoked, acquired, and imposed patterns of behavior. The biological level is hardly controversial, but to draw a distinction between separate cultural and social selective processes is more p…
Laos: The Chinese Connection
The title of my first contribution to Southeast Asian Affairs in 1980 was “Laos: The Vietnamese Connection”. A great deal has happened in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) over the past three decades, both internally, and in its relations with its neighbours. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) is still in power, but it is a party riven by ambition and greed. The country is wealthier than it was thirty years ago; but the urban-r…
Laos: Politics in a Single-party State
In the nominally Marxist-Leninist Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), whose political institutions are modelled on those of the former Soviet Union, the most important events of the political calendar are the congresses of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). These congresses take place only every five years, and 2006 was such a year. Party congresses provide opportunities both for the nomination of a new political leadership,…
Two Views of the History of Historiography and The Nature of History
Recent debate about the history of historiography and the nature of history has tended to polarise between the postmodernist view and various more ‘conservative’ positions. This article critically examines a recent contribution to the debate, Ann Curthoys’ and John Docker’s Is History Fiction?, and proposes an alternative way of understanding the history of historiography that reveals the nature of history in a very different light. This article …
The political culture of corruption in the Lao PDR
Transparency International (TI) defines corruption as “the misuse of entrusted power for private benefit” (Transparency International, 2000, p. 1). The potential for corruption thus exists wherever
The Challenge for Lao Historiography
This article examines the political dimension of historiography in contributing to the Lao nation-state building project, with particular reference to institutional and social forms of Lao political culture, the role of minority groups during the Revolution and the lingering shadow of the country's aristocratic past. Reference is made to several key issues in current Lao historiography. The article also raises the issue of the respective politica…
Southeast Asia and China: The Role of History and Culture in Shaping Future Relations
Despite the position of the United States as de facto global hegemon, China is a rising power in the world. As Chinese power grows, the projection of Chinese influence will be felt most acutely in Southeast Asia. Whether to accommodate, contain or resist China will depend on future developments that none can foresee, including Chinese ambitions, the policies of other international players (the U.S., Japan), and the cohesion or fragility of the As…
The Dvaravati “Buddha on a Monster” Stelae: A Possible Interpretation
Providing convincing explanations for objects that are unique to Dvaravati is particularly challenging given that our knowledge of the polity is sketchy to say the least. One particularly fascinating group of such objects comprises a number of stelae depicting the Buddha apparently standing on the head of some beast or “monster”. The central Buddha figure is usually flanked by two gods, probably Indra and Brahma, or two bodhisattva s, or just two…
Evolutionary Theory of History
Several attempts have been made recently to apply Darwinian evolutionary theory to the study of culture change and social history. The essential elements in such a theory are that variations occur in a population, and that a process of selective retention operates during their replication and transmission. Location of such variable "units" in the semantic structure of cognition provides the individual psychological basis for an evolutionary theor…
The Politics of Ritual and Remembrance: Laos since 1975
Communist revolutions in this century have suppressed existing ritual and symbolic structures and invented new ones. Armed with new flags, new national celebrations, or new school textbooks, they have attempted to reconstruct social memory. This fascinating work of political anthropology examines the case of Laos from the heady days of the 1975 revolution to the more sober post-socialist present. Grant Evans traces the attempt at ritual and symbo…
Can History Be True? A Review Essay
Laos in Asean: Dilemmas of development and identity
Laos in 1997: Into Asean
Membership in ASEAN will have a long-term effect on the direction of Laos's economic development. Laos has been given until 2008 to meet ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) requirements to reduce tariffs on most goods to below 5%. This should encourage both trade and investment but will force the government to introduce fiscal reforms to make up for the 20% of total revenue it currently derives from tariffs. Laos will also become more fully integrated w…
A History of Laos
Australasian Contributions to the Historiography of Southeast Asia
Laos: Towards Subregional Integration
For Laos the opening on 8 April 1994 of the first bridge across its Mekong river frontier with Thailand was more important for its symbolic significance than for any immediate economic impact it can be expected to have. The Mitaphap (Friendship in both Lao and Thai) bridge carries two lanes of road traffic and can accommodate an extension of the Bangkok-Nong Khai railway to Vieng Chan (Vientiane). Its 1.174 kilometre length spans the river channe…
The French in Laos, 1887-1945
Laos constituted one of the five territorial entities making up French Indochina-comprising in addition the colony of Cochinchina and the protectorates of Annam, Tonkin and Cambodia. It was never, however, one among equals. Even before the annexation of Lao territories east of the Mekong river in 1893, Laos was perceived as little more than an extension of Vietnam west towards Siam (Thailand), a much more significant potential prize. The addition…
Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness
Prospects for democracy in Laos
(1993). Prospects for democracy in Laos. Asian Studies Review: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 121-128
Engaging “Asia”
On the Writing of Lao History: Continuities and Discontinuities
The writing of Lao history presents peculiar problems, not because of the quantity and quality of sources available (though these leave much to be desired for certain periods), but because of the difficulty in deciding what is meant by “Lao history”. There is a problem in identifying the object of study. Is Lao history the history of those territories inhabited by ethnic Lao, or of the state of Laos as it has existed at various times under variou…
Recent French monographs on Indochina
The political culture of corruption in the Lao PDR
Transparency International (TI) defines corruption as “the misuse of entrusted power for private benefit” (Transparency International, 2000, p. 1). The potential for corruption thus exists wherever
The French in Laos, 1887-1945
Laos constituted one of the five territorial entities making up French Indochina-comprising in addition the colony of Cochinchina and the protectorates of Annam, Tonkin and Cambodia. It was never, however, one among equals. Even before the annexation of Lao territories east of the Mekong river in 1893, Laos was perceived as little more than an extension of Vietnam west towards Siam (Thailand), a much more significant potential prize. The addition…
Politicization of the Buddhist Sangha in Laos
Theravada Buddhism as the traditional religion of the dominant ethnic Lao majority in Laos historically has played a key role in structuring Lao society and in assuring the continuity of Lao culture. Though the dhamma (the Buddha's teaching) may be only superficially understood and practised by most of the lay population, Buddhism has provided a set of moral values and a view of life which have strongly influenced modes of thought and action over…
Laos in 1988: In Pursuit of New Directions
Research Article| January 01 1989 Laos in 1988: In Pursuit of New Directions Martin Stuart-Fox Martin Stuart-Fox Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1960) 29 (1): 81–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644519 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Ci…
On the Writing of Lao History: Continuities and Discontinuities
The writing of Lao history presents peculiar problems, not because of the quantity and quality of sources available (though these leave much to be desired for certain periods), but because of the difficulty in deciding what is meant by “Lao history”. There is a problem in identifying the object of study. Is Lao history the history of those territories inhabited by ethnic Lao, or of the state of Laos as it has existed at various times under variou…
The Challenge for Lao Historiography
This article examines the political dimension of historiography in contributing to the Lao nation-state building project, with particular reference to institutional and social forms of Lao political culture, the role of minority groups during the Revolution and the lingering shadow of the country's aristocratic past. Reference is made to several key issues in current Lao historiography. The article also raises the issue of the respective politica…
Southeast Asia and China: The Role of History and Culture in Shaping Future Relations
Despite the position of the United States as de facto global hegemon, China is a rising power in the world. As Chinese power grows, the projection of Chinese influence will be felt most acutely in Southeast Asia. Whether to accommodate, contain or resist China will depend on future developments that none can foresee, including Chinese ambitions, the policies of other international players (the U.S., Japan), and the cohesion or fragility of the As…
Evolutionary Theory of History
Several attempts have been made recently to apply Darwinian evolutionary theory to the study of culture change and social history. The essential elements in such a theory are that variations occur in a population, and that a process of selective retention operates during their replication and transmission. Location of such variable "units" in the semantic structure of cognition provides the individual psychological basis for an evolutionary theor…
The Politics of Ritual and Remembrance: Laos since 1975
Communist revolutions in this century have suppressed existing ritual and symbolic structures and invented new ones. Armed with new flags, new national celebrations, or new school textbooks, they have attempted to reconstruct social memory. This fascinating work of political anthropology examines the case of Laos from the heady days of the 1975 revolution to the more sober post-socialist present. Grant Evans traces the attempt at ritual and symbo…
Marxism and Theravada Buddhism: The Legitimation of Political Authority in Laos
JAOS AND KAMPUCHEA were the first countries whose traditional L religion was Theravada Buddhism to adopt forms of MarxismLeninism as their governing ideology. In Kampuchea, the regime of Pol Pot imposed its own peculiar form of Marxism through the ruthless suppression of Buddhism, which involved the destruction of monasteries and temples, and the forced secularization or murder of monks.' In Laos, the transition has been more gradual: Buddhism ha…
Factors Influencing Relations between the Communist Parties of Thailand and Laos
Research Article| April 01 1979 Factors Influencing Relations between the Communist Parties of Thailand and Laos Martin Stuart-Fox Martin Stuart-Fox Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1950) 19 (4): 333–352. https://doi.org/10.2307/2643855 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Per…
The 'three knowledges' of Buddhism: Implications of Buddhadasa's interpretation of rebirth
(1983). The ‘three knowledges’ of Buddhism: Implications of Buddhadasa's interpretation of rebirth. Religion: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 99-112
Reflections on the Lao Revolution
Revolutions tend to generate intense emotions, especially among participants and victims. It is therefore in some ways easier for an external observer to reflect dispassionately upon a recent revolution, than for someone more directly involved. Sympathy, born of under standing, may be felt and expressed both for those whose vision spurred the revolution and who are committed to it, and for those who opposed it, fled from it, or were destroyed by …
Lao foreign policy: The view from Vientiane
Factors Influencing Relations between the Communist Parties of Thailand and Laos
Research Article| April 01 1979 Factors Influencing Relations between the Communist Parties of Thailand and Laos Martin Stuart-Fox Martin Stuart-Fox Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1950) 19 (4): 333–352. https://doi.org/10.2307/2643855 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Per…
Laos The Vietnamese Connection
For the last thirty years, the course of the Lao revolution has been closely tied to events in Vietnam. As Lao Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Kaysone Phomvihan, has on more than one occasion explicitly recognized, Vietnamese aid and advice have been deeply influential in bringing the present r?gime to power in Laos. These close ties were formalized in the Lao-Vietnamese Treaty of Friendship an…
Reflections on the Lao Revolution
Revolutions tend to generate intense emotions, especially among participants and victims. It is therefore in some ways easier for an external observer to reflect dispassionately upon a recent revolution, than for someone more directly involved. Sympathy, born of under standing, may be felt and expressed both for those whose vision spurred the revolution and who are committed to it, and for those who opposed it, fled from it, or were destroyed by …
Laos: A small state involved in neighbour's conflict
Socialist construction and national security in Laos
As the poorest country in Asia (with the current exception of Kampuchea), Laos faces peculiar problems associated both with promoting economic development and with maintaining national security. Not only is Laos far less powerful by any criterion than any of its neighbors (again excluding at present Kampuchea), with a weak economic infrastructure and minimal industrial capacity, but its small population is deeply divided, both ethnically and cult…
Lao foreign policy: The view from Vientiane
Construcción socialista y seguridad nacional en Laos
Politicization of the Buddhist Sangha in Laos
Theravada Buddhism as the traditional religion of the dominant ethnic Lao majority in Laos historically has played a key role in structuring Lao society and in assuring the continuity of Lao culture. Though the dhamma (the Buddha's teaching) may be only superficially understood and practised by most of the lay population, Buddhism has provided a set of moral values and a view of life which have strongly influenced modes of thought and action over…
Notes on historical writing for all three worlds
On Theory of History and Its Context of Discovery
The 'three knowledges' of Buddhism: Implications of Buddhadasa's interpretation of rebirth
(1983). The ‘three knowledges’ of Buddhism: Implications of Buddhadasa's interpretation of rebirth. Religion: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 99-112
Marxism and Theravada Buddhism: The Legitimation of Political Authority in Laos
JAOS AND KAMPUCHEA were the first countries whose traditional L religion was Theravada Buddhism to adopt forms of MarxismLeninism as their governing ideology. In Kampuchea, the regime of Pol Pot imposed its own peculiar form of Marxism through the ruthless suppression of Buddhism, which involved the destruction of monasteries and temples, and the forced secularization or murder of monks.' In Laos, the transition has been more gradual: Buddhism ha…
Apprentice Revolutionaries: The Communist Movement in Laos, 1930-1985
"Response to Lou Nordstrom's Review of "The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism
Roderick Bucknell, Martin Stuart-Fox, Response to Lou Nordstrom's Review of "The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism", Philosophy East and West, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr., 1989), pp. 191-196
Conferences on conflict resolution in Kampuchea
The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism
Meditation and symbolism the twilight language in historical context concentration insight meditation the three knowledges the five symbolic groups the mandala and cakras doctrinal and historical implications
Laos in 1988: In Pursuit of New Directions
Research Article| January 01 1989 Laos in 1988: In Pursuit of New Directions Martin Stuart-Fox Martin Stuart-Fox Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1960) 29 (1): 81–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644519 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Ci…
The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism
Recent French monographs on Indochina
Prospects for democracy in Laos
(1993). Prospects for democracy in Laos. Asian Studies Review: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 121-128
Engaging “Asia”
On the Writing of Lao History: Continuities and Discontinuities
The writing of Lao history presents peculiar problems, not because of the quantity and quality of sources available (though these leave much to be desired for certain periods), but because of the difficulty in deciding what is meant by “Lao history”. There is a problem in identifying the object of study. Is Lao history the history of those territories inhabited by ethnic Lao, or of the state of Laos as it has existed at various times under variou…
Australasian Contributions to the Historiography of Southeast Asia
Laos: Towards Subregional Integration
For Laos the opening on 8 April 1994 of the first bridge across its Mekong river frontier with Thailand was more important for its symbolic significance than for any immediate economic impact it can be expected to have. The Mitaphap (Friendship in both Lao and Thai) bridge carries two lanes of road traffic and can accommodate an extension of the Bangkok-Nong Khai railway to Vieng Chan (Vientiane). Its 1.174 kilometre length spans the river channe…
The French in Laos, 1887-1945
Laos constituted one of the five territorial entities making up French Indochina-comprising in addition the colony of Cochinchina and the protectorates of Annam, Tonkin and Cambodia. It was never, however, one among equals. Even before the annexation of Lao territories east of the Mekong river in 1893, Laos was perceived as little more than an extension of Vietnam west towards Siam (Thailand), a much more significant potential prize. The addition…
Political science (26 works) · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies (25 works) · History (17 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (13 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Cambodian History and Society (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works)