Nuon Chea and Thai Intellectuals in Thailand's Communist Movement (1945–1950)

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with Nuon Chea (1926–2019) and former members of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), together with contemporary publications and surviving educational and administrative records, this study reconstructs Nuon Chea's life and political activities in Bangkok between 1942 and 1950. It also examines a significant transformation in the social composition of Thailand's communist movement in the late 1940s: the broadening of its base from an established leadership composed largely of Thailand-born activists of Chinese ancestry to include a somewhat younger generation of Thai intellectuals educated within the Thai school system.By identifying Nuon Chea's Thai name, Runglert Laodi, and tracing his education at Wat Benjamabopit School and Thammasat University, his employment in the Thai civil service, and his involvement in the Thai Youth Organization, the study corrects substantial inaccuracies in earlier accounts of his political development. It establishes that he became involved in the Thai Youth Organization in 1947, not 1944, and that he did not formally join the CPT until 1950, shortly before leaving Thailand to take part in the anti-colonial struggle in Cambodia.Beyond reconstructing Nuon Chea's early political career, the study investigates the activities and personal networks of Thai intellectuals associated with the CPT, including Ruam Wongphan, Prasoet Sapsunthon, Sanoh Phanitcharoen, Somkhwan Phichaikul, and Udom Charoenrat. Their educational backgrounds, political experiences, and ties to established communist activists show how the party and its affiliated organizations drew in a new generation of Thai intellectuals in the early postwar years. The study pays particular attention to the roles of student organizations, political publications, personal contacts, and recruitment networks in facilitating this broadening.By examining Nuon Chea's political development alongside that of his Thai contemporaries, the study elucidates in concrete terms the process by which Thai intellectuals entered and became active in Thailand's communist movement in the late 1940s. It thereby contributes not only to a more accurate understanding of Nuon Chea's formative years but also to the social and organizational history of the CPT during a period of marked generational change.