| In less advanced societies, where military coups frequently occur, it seems obvious that their political and social institutions have high levels of structural differentiation and low levels of structural elaboration. The lack of political and social consensus makes it easy for the military to come to power through a military coup. Senior military officers can always claim that with all the forces of society disorganized and social life in peril of dissolution, it is necessary for them to act as interim politicians.;The key findings of this study are that the strength of the Thai armed forces and its institutions has created two types of military intervention in politics: military domination, and military influence. This project suggests that the aspect of civil-military coexistence, which is one of the features of civil-military relations theories, should be applied to the Thai case. Permanent military withdrawal from politics and the acceptance of civilian control of the armed forces will lead to the probable disappearance of future military coups.;This dissertation proposes that the principles of civilian control and civilian supremacy over the military, and military professionalization with fewer responsibilities, can help reduce the opportunity for the military to intervene in politics, and, conversely, force them back to the barracks. Moreover, when incentives of intervention like societal disorder, governmental instability, weaknesses of political party, political corruption, social differentiation, and military corporate interests are circumscribed, military withdrawal/civilian control and democratization may have a bright future in Thai politics.;The aim of this dissertation is to bring the reader a clearer perception of the role of armed forces in developing countries, specifically Thailand, that have weak traditions of parliamentary democracy. The central focus is to study the Thai military coup d'etat in general, to examine the origins, the regulations and the laws associated with the coups; then, to propose the appropriate or proper ways for the Thai military to return to the barracks. The study's purpose is to increase understanding of why military intervention in Thai politics since 1932 has not yet declined and why it persistently recurs to the present. |
