“It is precisely because they constitute from one end of the book to the other the focal point of the analysis that it turns out to be of more global scope, offering a hitherto unexplored light on the impact of the “cultural policies” of contemporary Thailand with regard to the poorest. It is a tour de force – bet won – to have shown how these sons of slums reveal a model of growing infantilization generated by authoritarian governance and monarchical paternalism. The interest of the book does not stop there. It also resides in the demonstration that, beyond the simple process of Thaiization of which the children of the slums are the toys, an ascending cosmopolitical process or “bottom-up cosmopolitanism” which unfolds in these transnational arenas where the children are essential actors. We must salute G. Boletta’s feat of having succeeded in articulating this double game of scales which are on the one hand the implementation of educational policies with strong ideologies, on the other a network of mutual aid as well both informal and illegal, leading these children from the margins to other urban margins from the global city.”
“It is precisely because they constitute from one end of the book to the other the focal point of the analysis that it turns out to be of more global scope, offering a hitherto unexplored light on the impact of the “cultural policies” of contemporary Thailand with regard to the poorest. It is a tour de force – bet won – to have shown how these sons of slums reveal a model of growing infantilization generated by authoritarian governance and monarchical paternalism. The interest of the book does not stop there. It also resides in the demonstration that, beyond the simple process of Thaiization of which the children of the slums are the toys, an ascending cosmopolitical process or “bottom-up cosmopolitanism” which unfolds in these transnational arenas where the children are essential actors. We must salute G. Boletta’s feat of having succeeded in articulating this double game of scales which are on the one hand the implementation of educational policies with strong ideologies, on the other a network of mutual aid as well both informal and illegal, leading these children from the margins to other urban margins from the global city.”
