This article argues that ritual remains a potent instrument for the generation of national identity and citizenship in Southeast Asia. We focus our analysis on the ritualisation of public space in Bangkok, Thailand, under the military-led government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The authors provide an ethnographic analysis of Sanam Luang, arguing that between 2016 and 2017 funeral rites held in this public space would reanimate it as a catalyst of national unification. As in other cases of ritual in public space, however, the intensified securitisation and control over national mourning for King Bhumibol by the military government, gave way to a range of reactions, including increased protests and criticism of the ruling government and Thailand's lesé-majesté laws by a predominantly youth-led movement in 2020.

本文认为，仪式仍然是东南亚国家认同和公民身份形成的有力工具。我们的分析重点是巴育将军领导的泰国曼谷公共空间的仪式化。作者对皇家田广场进行了民族志分析，认为 2016 年至 2017 年间在这个公共场所举行的葬礼将使其重新焕发活力，成为国家统一的催化剂。然而，与公共场所的其他仪式一样，军政府加强了对普密蓬国王全国哀悼活动的安全化和控制，引发了一系列反应，包括对执政政府和泰国不敬君主的抗议和批评的增加主要由青年领导的运动将于 2020 年制定法律。