Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand

Since January 2004, a violent separatist insurgency has raged in southern Thailand resulting in more than 3000 deaths. Though largely unnoticed outside Southeast Asia, the rebellion in Pattani and neighboring provinces and the Thai government's harsh crackdown have resulted in a full-scale crisis.

Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the region, hundreds of interviews conducted during a year's research in the troubled area, and unpublished Thai- language sources that range from anonymous leaflets to confessions extracted by Thai security forces, McCargo locates the roots of the conflict.

McCargo is the recent recipient of Asia Society's first annual Bernard Schwartz Book Award.

Co-hosted with the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University.