A particular place? Laos and its incorporation into the development mainstream

Laos is a poor country in the world's most economically vibrant region. I provide a historically embedded interpretation of Laos' contemporary economic geography through three lenses: dualism, spatiality, and scale. I propose that, while the patterns of change in the country are familiar, the meaning of those patterns is linked to a series of spatial associations, scalar disjunctures, historical contingencies, and cultural incongruities which are place based and country or region specific. I draw a distinction between national and transnational governmentalities on the one hand, and 'village governmentalities' on the other hand, offering these as alternative, but not mutually exclusive, ways of viewing and interpreting Laos' economic geography.