Center for Southeast Asian Studies Friday Forum Lecture Series

It is recognized that the military coups in Thailand in 2006 & 2014 were attempts of the anti-democratic alliance of the old powers against the rise of electoral politics. Little attention has been paid to the military’s expansive civil affairs projects, including development programs, mass organizations & mobilization campaigns, ideological & psychological programs. Puangthong argues that the Thai military paid great importance to its civil affairs projects as an offensive to control politics.