Infrastructures of Ethnicity: Knowledge, Vision, and Development in the Lao Nation-State

Manarul Hidayat; Beni Bayu Sanjaya; Fransisca Fortunata Riana; Anisha Rizki Utami

doi:10.30872/43gmd518

Authors

Manarul Hidayat Universitas Gadjah Mada http://orcid.org/0009-0005-2688-382X (unauthenticated)
Beni Bayu Sanjaya Universitas Gadjah Mada
Fransisca Fortunata Riana Universitas Gadjah Mada
Anisha Rizki Utami Universitas Gadjah Mada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30872/43gmd518

Abstract

This article examines how ethnicity functions as an infrastructure of state power in contemporary Laos. Drawing on a meta-methodological literature analysis, the study mobilizes three interlinked theoretical frameworks—Scott’s administrative legibility, Bennett’s exhibitionary complex, and Bourdieu’s symbolic violence—to trace how knowledge, vision, and development shape governable diversity. Through frontal comparison and critical ethnographic reading, the article demonstrates that colonial classificatory logics persist in socialist governance, structuring the Lao Loum–Lao Theung–Lao Sung hierarchy. Museums and cultural festivals materialize these categories into aesthetic forms that normalize inequality, while hydropower expansion, land concessions, and upland relocation translate symbolic hierarchies into material dispossession. The findings show that classification, representation, and development operate as mutually reinforcing modalities of rule that render ethnic difference visible, beautiful, and governable, while concealing structural marginalization.

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