Hill tribes in the highlands of the northern region have different lifestyles and cultural, social and economic conditions different from those in the lowlands. Additionally, they reside in different places in the mountainous regions, making them feel less nationalistic as well as making them difficult to supervise administratively. They are therefore prone to infiltration by the communists. Swidden agricultural practices and opium cultivation have caused environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources and drug problems. These problems directly affect the security of the nation.
    
The book focuses on ethnic knowledge about the hill tribes, particularly the Karen, Hmong and Lahu, who make up the majority of the hill tribes population. An investigation into hill tribe problems affecting national security and state policies, including measures and highland development projects initiated to solve the problems was also conducted in order to obtain a clear knowledge and suitable guidelines to solve these problems.