Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the role of hate propaganda, racism and intimate violence in Southern Thailand and in Myanmar and offers some generalisations on rumour, proaganda and hate crimes.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, I build on ethnographic long-term fieldwork in Southern Thailand and recent work in Mynamar to explain and analyze theoretically the significance of hate propaganda for the internal acceptance of massaker and hate crime. I discuss changing relations of Buddhist majorities and Muslim minorities in Southern Thailand and in Myanmar and how ultranationalist Theravada groups mobilise hatred and resentments against Muslims in both contexts which helps to legitimize violence.

From these findings, the paper addresses some larger issues on intimacy and violence and the involvement of locals in the preparation of violence. The paper argues that hate campaigns are fairly successful in mobilising hatred and animosity in the local arena and help to escalate the situation.