Conclusion: Manners in Thailand’s Civilizing Process

Summary

In the conclusion I argue that rather than seeing Thai manners as one element within an essentialized 'Thai culture', we ought to understand the history of manners in Thailand as a variation of Norbert Elias’s notion of a civilizing process. Seen as a historical process, change in conduct and modes of civility in Thailand looks remarkably like that which has taken place in the West. I also explain why the courtly ethos has been so prominent in Thai conceptions of good manners and civility, by contrast to many of its Asian neighbours. I end the chapter and the book by arguing along Braudellian lines for the importance of an understanding of Thai history over the long term.