ABSTRACT
Thailand's external security environment has been transformed by the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces from Cambodia in 1990. This chapter explores how the evolution of domestic and international politics has redefined Thai civil-military relations. It discusses the implications of changes in civil-military relations on Thailand's goals and behavior in the regional context. The chapter presents a historical review of the role of the military in Thai politics. It explains how changes in the ideological context and constitutive rules that govern Thai politics have forced a reorientation of the position of the Thai military in society. The chapter also discusses how civil-military relations affect the definition of economic and security goals. Events in the post-Cold War period contributed to the evolution of Thai civil-military relations. The chapter focuses on the post-1992 period and how the process of democratization and the concomitant development of civil society have affected Thailand's interests in the region.
