LAOS - A Country Study

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• LAOS
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• 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
    • Buddhism
    • Animism
  • EDUCATION
    • Education Prior to the Lao People's Democratic Republic
    • 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
    • Industrial Output and Employment
      • 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
    • The Budget Deficit
    • Government Revenue
    • Government Expenditure
    • Policy
  • THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
    • The Banking System
    • 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
      • Policy
      • 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
      • Internal Stability and External Influences
      • Key Leaders
  • THE CONSTITUTION
    • Development of the Constitution
    • Highlights of the Constitution
  • GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
    • Bureaucratic Culture
    • Executive
    • Legislature
    • Judiciary
  • CHALLENGES TO THE REGIME
    • Human Rights
    • Insurgents
    • Refugees
    • Political Opposition
  • MASS MEDIA
  • FOREIGN POLICY
    • Basic Goals
    • Bureaucratic Complications
    • Economic Factors
    • Bilateral Relations
      • Relations with Vietnam
      • 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
    • Civil Liberties and Human Rights
    • Detention Centers
  • NARCOTICS AND COUNTERNARCOTICS ISSUES
• Appendix. Tables
• Bibliography
• Glossary