5 - Conclusion – Long Live the Revolution?

Summary

Abstract

This chapter argues that while the political system in Laos has shown resilience and an ability to reinvent itself as necessary, it is not entirely unassailable. Even in authoritarian systems, legitimacy remains important. It suggests that if there is to be a flash point over legitimacy, that may come with rising inequality and particularly, as the rise of Chinese influence continues. It concludes by suggesting that as long as a sense of Laoness remains, the political system may remain in place as the authorities present themselves as the guardians of Lao culture and identity. Should that become threatened, questions of political legitimacy will reopen. It includes a final paragraph questioning how the Covid-19 situation will impact Laos.

Keywords: Lao politics, political legitimacy, national identity, China

The cover of this book contains an image of a statue of revolutionary heroes on the Lao-Vietnam border. This project also began with a statue; and a different one. This is the statue of King Sisavang Vong in the grounds of the National Museum in Luang Prabang, a picture of which appears at the very beginning of the book. Though he died in 1959, he now stands as a solitary figure in the gardens of the former home of the Lao royal family. For his successor, King Sisavang Vatthana, who foresaw that he would be the last King of Laos, his wife, the Crown Prince, and several others, their final home was a re-education camp on the Lao-Vietnamese border not far from where the statue on the cover is located and from which they never returned.

For almost seven years, I have watched people leave offerings at the base of King Sisavang Vong's statue. Each time I passed the National Museum, I would attempt to document numbers of offerings and there were few occasions where there were none there at all. At festival times when the road was busier, or simply to obtain a better view, I would climb the base of Phousi Hill opposite the museum. If I were in the right place at the right time, I would see people, usually lone women, approach the statue and remove their shoes. Without exception, the women would be dressed in the traditional Lao sinh skirt, usually of silk but occasionally of cotton, with a traditional scarf over one shoulder. This is customary and the appropriate dress for entering a temple.