BUDDHISM AND THE COLD WAR

Eugene Ford, Cold War Monks: Buddhism and America's Secret Strategy in Southeast Asia (New Haven & London: Yale U. Press, 2017) (From the book jacket: "How did the U.S. government make use of a 'Buddhism policy' in Southeast Asia during the Cold War despite the American principle that the state shouldn't meddle with religion? [] This fascinating narrative provides a new look at how the Buddhist leadership of Thailand and its neighbors became enmeshed in Cold War politics and in the U.S. government's clandestine efforts to use a predominant religion of Southeast Asia as an instrument of national stability to counter communist revolution.").