Throughout history and throughout most major regions of the world, the expansion of agricultural land has served as a tool of population redistribution and has also played a key role in the formation and consolidation of States. This appears particularly true in twentieth-century Southeast Asia, as can be observed from case studies of the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand developed in this article, and may contribute to the originality and dynamism of State formation in the region.

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Rapid deforestation is a major problem throughout the tropical world. The conditions and the pace under which societies and economies of the Third World are currently evolving and growing, combined with the specificities of tropical forests, render the latter increasingly vulnerable. Among the major tropical areas of the world, Southeast Asia is perhaps the one where these conditions have had the most impact on the retreat of the forest cover over the last quarter of this century. This is illustrated through the presentation of two maps of the distribution of five basic forest formations in Southeast Asia circa 1970 and circa 1990. The maps are examined and compared, as well as confronted with statistical assessments of deforestation. Finally, the complex causes behind the retreat of the tropical forests as well as the implications of this retreat are briefly discussed.

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This paper presents examples of agricultural expansion and frontier development throughout world history. Following a preliminary appraisal of the immense literature devoted to the topic, some key ideas and interpretations concerning the foundations, processes and consequences of frontier development are presented. These are drawn from a broad spectrum of European, American and Asian experiences and refer to geopolitical, demographic and ethnic issues. A brief survey of Vietnam's own historical and contemporary experience both confirms and enriches these interpretations while raising questions about the intensity of the process and the country's capacity to maintain it in high gear.