The basis of Thailand's political security has been altered from time to time to meet the changing stresses and strains created by great powers in the Far East. In the process of political evolution the Thai people and their politicians have shown a great deal of flexibility.

For thirty-five years a major scholarly dialogue, (which often spilled over into abrasive debate) has enlivened the study of comparative Indo-European religions and mythology. At the center of this academic storm is Georges Dumézil, whose brilliant insights into the nature of early Indo-European cosmology, myths, rites, deities and social structure, have sent dozens of historians of religion, philologists and linguists to the texts in efforts to either corroborate or disprove his theories. The extent of Dumézil's influence may be seen in the number of scholars who have developed and amplified his ideas in their own research. Another, equally significant measure of his influence may be found in the number of well-informed critics which the French scholar has attracted. Dumézil's central theory, concerning the tripartite ideology of the Indo-Europeans, has proven to be suggestive and stimulating for scholars in Germanic, Roman, Celtic, Scandinavian and Indie studies. Certainly, Dumézil ranks alongside other great contemporary French scholars such as Braudel and Lévi-Strauss. Like them, his work has had an incalculable effect upon his discipline and upon the world of scholarship.

Until the arrival of the Europeans, sea traffic to the Indies was merely coastal. Sailing ships went from port to port along the coasts. As the Strait of Malacca was, of old, the gateway to the Indonesian Archipelago, it is no wonder that Islam was introduced first in the settlements along the coast of this Strait.

In all probability, Moslem merchants from Hindustan, especially from Gujarat, brought Islam to the Indonesian Archipelago. They arrived in the same way and by the same means as their ancestors who brought Hindu civilization twelve centuries earlier. Islam was introduced by merchants and not by conquering Arab legions, or even by missionaries.

In 1931 Malinowski wrote, “Although a great deal is known about the technology of house building and even about the structure of houses in various cultures and although a fair amount is also known about the constitution of the family, few accounts deal with the relation between the form of the dwelling and the form of domestic arrangements, on the one hand, and the constitution of the family, on the other, and yet such a relation does exist.” Malinowski then goes on to explain that the extended house is a function of the large, or extended family; while the club house, or men's house, is a function of age grouping, secret societies, or sexual abstinence or laxity.

For underdeveloped countries bent on accelerating their economic development, there are two alternatives: one is a mixed economy compatible with democracy, the other is planned development under totalitarianism. What has been happening in Communist China during the past few years is a striking example of the latter case, and its degree of success will undoubtedly have far-reaching influences on other economically backward countries desiring rapid economic development. Since rapid economic development is unattainable without substantial investment, the sources of investment funds are of crucial importance in the whole development program. The purpose of this paper is to explore how public investment was financed in Communist China, and to estimate which population groups bore the burden of such financing.

One of the weaknesses of comparative studies of the development of an entrepreneurial class is the lack of detailed data. Often such studies make use of census data which indicate the growth of this class in general but fail to show clearly the origins of new entrepreneurs. Available case studies, on the other hand, do not cover enough ground thus precluding generalizations.

With the formal abolition of the Tokugawa Shogunate on January 3, 1868, there was created in Japan a governmental void which was not filled finally and satisfactorily until 1889. The search of Japanese leaders for a satisfactory government structure for the new state was thus one of long duration. It did not begin seriously until the successful outcome of the military struggle with the Tokugawa forces in the early months of 1868 seemed assured.