"This is one of the most comprehensive studies of contemporary Thai politics seen through the careers of Thai military leaders since 1932 up until now. It is of vital importance if one is to understand present-day Thai politics.” —Kullada Kesboonchoo-Mead, Chulalongkorn University (retired), author of The Rise and Decline of Thai Absolutism “Paul Chambers has written, arguably, the most comprehensive and detailed book on the evolution of Thailand’s military power from the post–World War II era to the present day. This lucid book is a compelling read for anyone seeking to gain insight into the transformation of the country into a praetorian kingdom, where the monarchy and the military are the most powerful institutions. His delicate exploration of the various plots, methods, strategies, twists and betrayals provides readers with valuable perspectives on the inner workings and dynamics of Thailand’s praetorian system. One of the book’s strengths lies in its use of declassified and leaked documents from the US administrations, adding a sense of excitement and credibility to the analysis.” —Puangthong Pawakapan, Chulalongkorn University, author of Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military’s Internal Security Affairs “This study on the Thai military does not merely add to the existing critical understandings about its role in the country’s politics, it tackles the subject in a new light and challenges us to reexamine our appraisal of each military regime.” --- Dr. Chaiyan Rajchagool, University of Phayao, author of The Rise and Fall of the Thai Absolute Monarchy “This book does two significant things; first, cultivating large amounts of primary resources, and second, providing a sophisticated interpretation of Thai military ascendancy until 2023. Based on these reasons, the book is important for insightful and untold stories about the Thai military.” —Ukrist Pathmanand, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand “Monumental in scope and wondrously researched, Praetorian Kingdom is much more than the systematic study of the Thai military that has long been needed. For it is a volume that will compel readers not only to understand crucial episodes in Thailand’s modern history in new ways but also to appreciate the continuities in the country’s military politics as never before.” —Michael Montesano, Associate Senior Fellow, Thailand Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

As Thailand rose with the world order since WWII, its reputation in the international agricultural sciences owed much to one person. Charan Chantalakhana was the man for the times. As the Vietnam conflict stimulated massive US influence in Thailand, more benign stars aligned to build on Charan’s remote Siamese origins and guide him through a leading US university. This biography includes his pioneering Kasetsart University work in animal science research and his leadership in Thai universities, his role in the peak international research body the CGIAR and in the International Livestock Research Institute, and some of his many accolades. Perhaps of even greater human interest, Falvey’s work also traces Charan’s inspirational life from Siam’s obscure Deep South, through his early truancy years before shepherded by mentors until he himself became an outstanding mentor for Southeast Asia and the global advocate for smallholder farmers.

"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."--Veerayooth Kanchoochat, Associate Professor of Political Economy, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo “A truly monumental work about Thailand’s military from the 1960s until today, this solid study focuses upon the armed forces’ internal security role across Thai society, how the military has succeeded in legitimizing itself and boosting its power as a counterinsurgency force, guardian of monarchy and engine of development. The book also valuably looks at the military’s establishment of mass organizations beginning during the Cold War and mobilization of royalists since 2006. The book thus illustrates how the military has been able to enhance and sustain its overwhelming influence and is thus a valuable study for anyone wanting to understand key power-brokers in Thailand.”— Dr Paul Chambers, Center of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University, Thailand.

After the Coup brings together the work of a group of leading Thai intellectuals of several generations to equip readers to anticipate and understand the developments that lie ahead for Thailand. Contributors offer findings and perspectives both on the disorienting period following the Thai coup of May 2014 and on fundamental challenges to the country and its institutions. Chapters address regionalism and decentralization, the monarchy and the military, the media, demography and the economy, the long-running violence in Southern Thailand, and a number of surprising social and political trends certain to shape the future of Thailand. The volume will serve as a valuable resource for all those concerned with that future. “This highly acclaimed collection of scholars’ answers to basic questions about the political situation after the 2014 military coup in Thailand offers a comprehensive analysis of many crucial institutions and sensitive issues that no other work has touched. The book covers the intricate relationships among conflicting classes, political movements, the military, and, above all, the monarchy. It puts on the table many important debates about the crisis of democratization in the country, including the struggle of Malay-Muslims in Southern Thailand, the transformation of electoral violence, the dilemma of political decentralization, the changing roles of the media, and the impact of slowing economic growth and an ageing society on the future of Thailand.” —Kanokrat Lertchoosakul, Chulalongkorn University, author of The Rise of the Octobrists in Contemporary Thailand “After the Coup should be read by anyone interested in understanding the current state of Thailand’s political affairs, tracing the historical origins of the current challenges and conflicts, or looking for clues about what may be to come. This outstanding set of scholars explores how Thailand’s disparate collective identities are at the root of the current political and social conflict. These collective identities carry with them different visions of what it means to be ‘Thai’, what democracy is and how it should function, and the sources of political legitimacy. The chapter authors describe how those behind Thailand’s ‘ambitious coup’ have attempted to crush, co-opt, quell, and contain these competing visions.” —Allen Hicken, University of Michigan, author of Building Party Systems in Developing Democracies “Featuring a collection of essays authored by many of the field’s leading lights, expertly curated and edited by one of the most knowledgeable scholars in Thai Studies, After the Coup is a vital contribution to the study of contemporary Thai politics. The depth and sophistication of its analysis, and the variety of viewpoints represented, make it a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the significance of the events set in motion by the military coup staged in Thailand on 22 May 2014, one in crucial respects quite unlike the series of coups d’état that punctuate the country’s modern political development.” —Federico Ferrara, City University of Hong Kong, author of The Political Development of Modern Thailand “This book covers many of the most important current aspects of the Thai political problem, to help readers better understand why Thailand continues in its struggle to democracy. For example, it provides for a very insightful sense of an emergent middle class that has been one of the main obstacles in Thai democratic progress, both before and since the military coup d’état of 2014.” —Titipol Phakdeewanich, Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University

Military enterprises, ostensibly set up to feed and supply soldiers, were some of the earliest and largest Burmese commercial conglomerates, established in the 1950s. Union Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) are two profit-seeking military enterprises established by the military after the dissolution of the Burma Socialist Programme Party in 1988, which remain central players in Myanmar’s post-2011 economy. Military conglomerates are a major source of off-budget revenue for the military and a main employer of retired soldiers. Yet few veterans receive more than a small piece of the profits from UMEHL. The vast bulk of formal dividends instead disproportionately benefit higher ranking officers and institutions within the Tatmadaw. Military capitalism entrenches the autonomy of the Tatmadaw from civilian oversight. Despite this, obligatory or semi-coerced contributions from active-duty soldiers are a source of cash flow for UMEHL, effectively constituting a transfer from the government budget to the military’s off-budget entities. The most significant source of livelihoods support for most veterans is the service pension dispersed by the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoPF). Despite delivering suboptimal welfare outcomes for most soldiers and veterans while eroding the legitimacy of ceasefires, successive governments since 1988, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, have entrenched military capitalism by encouraging commercial activities of armed groups that enter into ceasefire agreements. Extending military pensions already paid by the Ministry of Planning and Finance to retired members of armed groups could deliver a far more consistent and tangible “peace dividend” than the commercial extraction of resources from ceasefire areas. More balanced civil–military relations, and fairer social outcomes for military personnel, will rely on civilian-led state institutions delivering effective and substantive welfare support beyond the commercially oriented welfare arrangements of military conglomerates.

Inequality is a defining global issue of our times. Southeast Asia stands out in some ways; the 2010s have seen most countries in the region reduce income gaps. Nonetheless, inequality levels remain high, especially in the middle-income to high-income countries, and popular disaffection and economic anxiety prevail, even while official statistics may paint more buoyant scenarios. The age-old problem of group-based exclusion in the development process manifests in new ways. This book provides up-to-date overviews of inequality levels and trends, primarily related to income, but also wealth and other socio-economic variables pertaining to education and health. The country chapters also examine salient themes of inequality, especially structural changes and public policies to redress inequality and exclusion, labour market developments, population groups, regional dynamics, and informal economies. We gain an appreciation for the unique conditions and diverse experiences of each country, and draw comparative insights across the region. “This is an impressive collection of papers written by scholars from Southeast Asia and addressing an important set of issues which deserve serious attention from policymakers. Inequality and social exclusion are problems which never seem to go away, even in the high-income countries, and this collection will be valuable for all those seeking to understand how serious the situation is in eight Southeast Asian states. The editors are to be congratulated on bringing together such a timely book.” Anne Booth, Emeritus Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies “This compilation of recent research on Southeast Asian economic inequalities by Lee and Choong underscores the rapid progress being made. The authors from the region underscore the global shift in research and policy attention in this century. Reflecting data and methodological diversity, the book variedly captures some ‘intersectionality’ of inequalities beyond the old focus on interpersonal and household income distribution.” Jomo KS, Fellow, Academy of Science, Malaysia “In societies across the world, rising inequality has become a critical issue over the past generation. Besides basic issues of justice, inequality between people obstructs the collective decision-making needed for societies to progress. This book is the most comprehensive study of inequality in Southeast Asia. It stresses that each society is different, but the solutions are common—good data, proper understanding, multidimensional approaches, strong institutions and popular agency.” Pasuk Phongpaichit, Emeritus Professor, Chulalongkorn University

By studying intersections among new cults of wealth, ritually empowered amulets and professional spirit mediumship—which have emerged together in Thailand’s dynamic religious field in recent decades—Capitalism Magic Thailand explores the conditions under which global modernity produces new varieties of enchantment. Bruno Latour’s account of modernity as a condition fractured between rationalizing ideology and hybridizing practice is expanded to explain the apparent paradox of new forms of magical ritual emerging alongside religious fundamentalism across a wide range of Asian societies. In Thailand, novel and increasingly popular varieties of ritual now form a symbolic complex in which originally distinct cults centred on Indian deities, Chinese gods and Thai religious and royal figures have merged in commercial spaces and media sites to sacralize the market and wealth production. Emerging within popular culture, this complex of cults of wealth, amulets and spirit mediumship is supported by all levels of Thai society, including those at the acme of economic and political power. New theoretical frameworks are presented in analyses that challenge the view that magic is a residue of premodernity, placing the dramatic transformations of cultic ritual centre stage in modern Thai history. It is concluded that modern enchantment arises at the confluence of three processes: neoliberal capitalism’s production of occult economies, the auraticizing effects of technologies of mass mediatization, and the performative force of ritual in religious fields where practice takes precedence over doctrine.

This book is a critical analysis of the contemporary and historical roots of a new type of political leadership in Egypt, dating from the July 23, 1952 revolution led by an idealistic Egyptian nationalist and pan-Arabist named Gamal Abdul Nasser. The Nasser regime is interpreted as essentially a praetorian political system, in which the military has the potential to dominate the political structure, with the army as a core group and as a ruling class. In such a system, political leadership is recruited mainly from the army. This volume chronicles the evolution of praetorian regimes in general, and then interprets Nasser's ascendancy to power from this perspective. The 1956 takeover ofthe Suez Canal and Nasser's transformation of his 1967 military debacle into a national "victory" is analyzed as the climax of his career. His inability to cement the uncomfortable federation with Syria and the imbroglio over his intervention in Yemen are seen as the beginning of his decline, culminating in the disastrous Six-Day War and his failure to prevent Hussein's annihilation of the Palestinians in Jordan. Nasser's contribution to the new style of politics prevalent in the Arab and sub-Saharan African worlds is evaluated. Also included is an analysis of the machinations of coup-preparing and coup-making, and comments on the neo-Islamic, corporate orientations of the post-Nasser praetorians. Perlmutter's work is unique in its combination of extensive scholarship, kowledge of Egyptian politics and familiarity with and ability to use current social science concepts. Egypt: The Praetorian State is the first comprehensive analytic and interpretive study of the Nasserite phenomenon. CONTENTS: Military Praetorianism: A New Type of Politics / The Historical Context / Egypt's Military: A Progressive New Middle Class? / Political Power and Social Cohesion in Nasser's Egypt / Experiments in Praetorianism: Nasser's Regimes and Political Parties / The Persistence of Nasserism: The Military vs. the ASU