1 Introduction: from Padi States to Commercial States Preliminary Remarks Nations and States or Nation-States? Inner Zomia and Globalization: the Other among the Self Ethnogenesis: Ethnic Minorities or Social Groups? Identity Construction in the Borderlands 2 Populations on the Move in the Borderlands of Northeast Cambodia: Socio-Economic Changes and Identity Creation (F. Bourdier) Irremediable Interferences International Linkages, Newcomers, and Alternative Perspectives Theoretical Prospects 3 The Burmese 'Adaptive Colonization' of Southern Thailand (M. Boutry) Introduction Historical Background: the National Roots of International Migrations Rationale The Burmese Adaptive Colonization of Thailand Migrations, Exchanges and the Making of Borders The Perception of Borders and Segmentation of Migration Conclusion 4 The "Interstices": A History of Migration and Ethnicity (J. Ivanoff) How was the first Zomian created? Interactions and Segmentations The Creation of 'Sea-Zomians' The Moken in Thailand The Moken in Myanmar Ethnogenesis: Fear of Slavery Versus Nomad Ideology 5 Borders and Cultural Creativity: the Case of the Chao Lay, the Sea Gypsies of Southern Thailand (O. Ferrari) Introduction Are Borderlands Exclusively Administrative Features? Territory and Borderland as Manifold Concepts The Sea Gypsies in the Ethnoregional Social Fabric The Coast as a Borderland The Nomads and the Sea The Tenth Month Ceremony The Sea Gypsies and the National Borders Conclusion 6. Bibliography Index About the authors