著者

小泉 順子

出版者

東京大学東洋文化研究所

雑誌

東洋文化研究所紀要 (ISSN:05638089)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.159, pp.190-218, 2011-03-28

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The Agreement between the Government of Thailand and the Government of the United States of America for Financing Certain Educational Exchange Programs, or what is known as the Fulbright Agreement, was signed on July 1, 1950, after more than two years of negotiation. By examining the process of those negotiations between the two countries against the background of the Cold War, this paper looks into the meaning of the agreement to both Thailand and the United States at its inception. It is revealed that Thailand was initially not very interested in the conclusion of the agreement as it saw little benefit in it mainly due to its institutional limitation that for the Thai citizens only transportation cost to study in the U.S. could be funded. The U.S., on the other hand, was eager to strengthen its "friendship" ties with Thailand, which the U.S. came to regard as an important supporter of the U.S. policies against Communist forces in Asia, particularly after 1949. The U.S. therefore wished to promote the exchange of students and experts in order to help the Thai public understand the U.S. policies. In the end, Thailand accepted the agreement as they wished for the smooth realization of other military and economic assistant programs that the U.S. was planning to extend to Thailand, which were important for the Phibun regime to strengthen its position within the domestic political situation. Such situations conditioned the early operation of the exchanges initiated by the program.