The Political Resurgence of the Military in Southeast Asia: Conflict and Leadership

by Mietzner; Marcus

• ISBN13: 9780415460354
• ISBN10: 0415460352
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-11
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In the late 1990s, prominent scholars of civil-military relations detected a decline in the political significance of the armed forces across Southeast Asia. A decade later, however, this trend seems to have been reversed. The Thai military launched a coup in 2006, the Philippine armed forces expanded their political privileges under the Arroyo presidency, and the Burmese junta successfully engineered pseudo-democratic elections in 2010. This book discusses the political resurgence of the military in Southeast Asia throughout the 2000s. Written by distinguished experts on military affairs, the individual chapters explore developments in Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, East Timor, Indonesia and Singapore. They not only assess, but also offer explanations for the level of military involvement in politics in each country. Consequently, the book also makes a significant contribution to the comparative debate about militaries in politics. Whilst conditions obviously differ from country to country, most authors in this book conclude that the shape of civil-military relations is not predetermined by historic, economic or cultural factors, but is often the result of intra-civilian conflicts and divisive or ineffective political leadership.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Political Role of Southeast Asian Militaries Marcus Mietzner 2. Thailand: Insurgency, Political Conflict and the Overthrow of Thaksin James Ockey or Duncan MCargo 3. Philippines: Extrajudicial Killings, Rebellions and Arroyo's Fight for Survival Carolina Hernandez or Nathan Quimpo 4. Indonesia: Political Stabilization and the Decline of State Coercion Marcus Mietzner 5. Myanmar: Domestic Opposition and International Isolation Morten Pedersen 6. Malaysia: Civil-Military Relations in the Post-Mahatir Polity William Case 7. Singapore: The Armed Forces and Societal Pressure for Political Change Tim Huxley 8. Vietnam: The Military's Declining Historical Legitimacy Thaveeporn Vasavakul 9. East Timor: From Rebel Movement to State Army - An Impossible Transition? Douglas Kammen 10. Conclusion: Conflict, Insurgencies and Democratic Governance - Trends in Southeast Asian Civil-Military Relations after 2001 Marcus Mietzner