Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military's Internal Security Affairs

Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military's Internal Security Affairs
Thai politics is driven by actors and actions of paradox such as anti-election movements for accountability or independent, partisan organizations. This lucidly written book uncovers the 'military-led civil affairs' that earn the armed forces the omnipotent role in Thai society. It enriches our understanding of the Thai military in both empirical and theoretical ways. Empirically, the book illuminates how the soldiers have been intensively involved in supposedly civic activities ranging from forest land management to poverty reduction. Such long-lasting and extensive involvement means the military could mobilize the organized mass of over 500,000 strong when necessary. Theoretically, readers will learn how an ideological discourse ('threats to national security') has been continuously redefined to serve the military’s evolving political and rent-seeking missions from the Cold War era to the twenty-first century. It also traces the persistence and mutation of this highly adaptable organization, the one that knows when to roar and when to camouflage. Still waters run deep; Thai military operations run deeper and wider

Author/Editor

Puangthong Pawakapan

Publisher

ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute

ISBN

9789814881715

Publication date

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2021

Specialisation

Humanities

Theme

National politics

Region

Thailand