Laos - A Country Study

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Index Page

  • Table A. Chronology of Important Events
  • COUNTRY PROFILE
  • GEOGRAPHY
  • SOCIETY
  • ECONOMY
  • TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
  • GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
  • NATIONAL SECURITY
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. Historical Setting
  • EARLY HISTORY
  • Power Centers in the Middle Mekong Valley
  • Mongol Influence
  • The Founding of Lan Xang
  • The Division of Lan Xang
  • DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
  • The Hold of Siam
  • The Eviction of Siam
  • Laos Under the French
  • WORLD WAR II AND AFTER
  • The French Protectorate and Direct Administration
  • Nationalist Stirrings
  • Events in 1945
  • The Lao Issara Government
  • A Confusing Situation
  • THE COMING OF INDEPENDENCE
  • The Kingdom of Laos
  • The Pathet Lao
  • TOWARD NEUTRALITY: THE FIRST COALITION
  • Initial Difficulties
  • Renewed Negotiations
  • A Fragile Unity
  • The 1958 Elections
  • North Vietnamese Invasion
  • The Army Enters Politics
  • THE ATTEMPT TO RESTORE NEUTRALITY
  • A Deepening Split
  • The Battle of Vientiane
  • The Widening War
  • INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE AND THE ADVENT OF THE SECOND COALITION
  • Expansion of Pathet Lao Influence
  • Protracted Diplomacy
  • Renewed Strains
  • The "Secret War"
  • THE THIRD COALITION AND THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
  • The Vientiane Agreement
  • The Origins of the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Question
  • Formation of the Third Coalition
  • The Communist Seizure of Power
  • Establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • "Seminar Camps" and the Death of King Savang Vatthana
  • Postwar Relations with the United States
  • Developments in the Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment
  • THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
  • Topography
  • Climate
  • Transportation Routes
  • Natural Resources
  • POPULATION
  • Ethnic Diversity
  • The Refugee Population
  • Rural-Urban Distribution
  • RURAL LIFE
  • Lowland Lao Society
  • Midland Lao Society
  • Upland Lao Society
  • The Pattern of Rural Life
  • URBAN SOCIETY
  • RELIGION
  • Animism
  • EDUCATION
  • Education since 1975
  • HEALTH AND WELFARE
  • Public Health
  • Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
  • Health Infrastructure
  • Social Welfare
  • FUTURE TRENDS
  • Chapter 3. The Economy
  • AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
  • Agriculture in the Economic System
  • Crops and Farming Systems
  • Rice
  • Other Crops
  • Livestock
  • Fishing
  • Forestry
  • Agricultural Policy
  • Environmental Problems and Policy
  • INDUSTRY AND SERVICES
  • Manufacturing
  • Energy
  • Mining
  • Construction
  • Services
  • Wholesale and Retail Trade
  • Tourism
  • Industrial Policy
  • TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
  • Roads
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Inland Waterways
  • Civil Aviation
  • Telecommunications
  • PUBLIC FINANCE
  • Government Revenue
  • Government Expenditure
  • Policy
  • THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
  • Money and Prices
  • Money Supply and Inflation
  • THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
  • The Foreign Exchange Rate
  • Foreign Trade
  • Exports
  • Imports
  • Trade Partners
  • Trade Balance
  • Trade Policy
  • Transit
  • Direct Foreign Investment
  • Investment Projects
  • Foreign Aid
  • External Debt
  • PROSPECTS FOR GROWTH
  • Chapter 4. Government and Politics
  • THE LAO PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
  • Origins of the Party
  • Party Structure
  • Semisecrecy of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
  • Ideology of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
  • Leadership
  • Key Leaders
  • THE CONSTITUTION
  • Highlights of the Constitution
  • GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
  • Executive
  • Legislature
  • Judiciary
  • CHALLENGES TO THE REGIME
  • Insurgents
  • Refugees
  • Political Opposition
  • MASS MEDIA
  • FOREIGN POLICY
  • Basic Goals
  • Bureaucratic Complications
  • Economic Factors
  • Bilateral Relations
  • Relations with Thailand
  • Relations with China
  • Relations with the Soviet Union
  • Relations with the United States
  • Capitalist Donor States
  • Multilateral Donors
  • Chapter 5. National Security
  • THE ARMED FORCES
  • Historical Background
  • The Colonial Era
  • The Royal Lao Army
  • Structure and Administration of the Armed Forces
  • Lao People's Army
  • Lao People's Air Force
  • Lao People's Navy
  • Other Military Units
  • Manpower and Conditions of Service
  • The Defense Budget
  • THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY
  • Internal Threats and Resistance Movements
  • The Ethnic Liberation Organization of Laos
  • The Hmong
  • Foreign Military Presence
  • The Confrontational Relationship with Thailand
  • Relations with the United States
  • NATIONAL POLICE AND PARAMILITARY FORCES
  • THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
  • Detention Centers
  • NARCOTICS AND COUNTERNARCOTICS ISSUES

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