evidence: As Thai historian Thonchai Winichakul emphasized, the idea that a modern nation-state should be spatially bounded by geographical borders was imported from Europe. In the case of Preah Vihear temple, the problem dates back from 1904 when the French authorities controlling Cambodia drew the current border line along the Dangrek mountain range watershed, which should have left the temple on the Thai side, but nonetheless they ensured that the temple was within Cambodian territory. At that time, the Thai authorities did not pay much attention. This attitude changed in the following years. In 1940, the Thai government took advantage of France’s weakened position after her defeat to Germany to "take back" Preah Vihear. Following the withdrawal of French troops from Cambodia in 1954, Thai forces again occupied the temple to enforce their claim. The newly independent Cambodia succeeded in having the International Court of Justice [ICJ] rule that the temple and the surrounding land lay in Cambodian territory (The Hague, 1962). The international accepted view of the legal jurisdiction of the temples is therefore clearly in Cambodia’s favor. If the case has been legally cleared, it has remained a volatile political issue in both countries ever since. Diplomatic relations were severed a number of times, and threats of force were voiced by both governments.