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Published on January 16, 2008

Out of all Southeast Asian countries in transition to democracy, only the Thai Army seemed "incapable of returning to the barracks", according to Antonio Rappa, a researcher at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"Thai military culture is dominated by a rather selfish general class of officers," Rappa said during the presentation of a paper he wrote on 'Thai Military Culture in Late Modernity' as part of an Inter-national Thai Studies Conference, at Thammasat University last week.

"Whenever it decides it's losing power it will step in," Rappa said.

The scholar said junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin had made one thing clear: "While Thai military culture is a constant, coups are probable and unpredictable".

"Ideally, democracies have to ensure there is civilian control over the military. The reason is simple. Civilian control affords and entertains the potential for democracy, while military control is structured to be purely authoritarian ... Public accountability and control over coercive forces such as the military, police and paramilitary forces is critical if democratic values are to survive and if the democratic transformation is to succeed," Rappa said.

"However, the Thai case is exceptional because both democratic and coercive elements in Thai society appear to have reached a 'compromise' without completely annihilating avenues for interest articulation, business transactions and economic activities, and without great loss of life."

With 18 "successful" coups - and a few more unsuccessful - the idea of a political role had become part of expectation in the military, Rappa pointed out. "Part of the indoctrination process of the military hierarchy involves the expectation that one has to follow the commands of one's superiors regardless of how one perceives social and democratic norms."

Part of Rappa's paper also dwells on the issue of military corruption and he suggested that since generals were not well paid, they are tempted by the possibility of amassing wealth through arms procurement wherein kickbacks may occur when contracts were awarded.

 And so one motive for the coup, according to Rappa, was that former PM Thaksin Shinawatra had embarked on what was perceived as a marginalisation of military control and a structural reduction of their power.

Although Thailand has just had a general election, Rappa also believed that a "permanent retreat of the military would run contrary to Thai military culture since there was much material benefit to lose, and with the loss of material wealth went political power."

Before the 2006 coup, Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda compared the government to a jockey and the military to a horse. Rappa suggested, however, that generals would determine whether to accept or reject the jockey.

"Soldiers' obedience is to military commanders rather than their political masters ... that enabled Sonthi and his allies to obtain the highest level of influence in Thailand," Rappa said.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation