Coercion and governance : the declining political role of the military in Asia / edited by Muthiah Alagappa.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Alagappa, Muthiah.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil-military relations--Asia.

Civil-military relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (622 p.)

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This far-ranging volume offers both a broad overview of the role of the military in contemporary Asia and a close look at the state of civil-military relations in sixteen Asian countries. It provides in-depth discussion of civil-military relations in countries where the military still continues to dominate the political helm as well as others where, in varying degrees, the military is disengaging from politics. Conceptually, the study connects the explanation for the changing relationship of the military to the state to the processes associated with the construction of nation, state, and political system, as well as the development of state capacity, economic growth, and change in the international system. The book argues that the key to understanding civil-military relations in Asia and elsewhere is the role of coercion, in state and nation building and in the exercise of political authority. As coercion in these processes increases or decreases, so does the political power and influence of the military. Civilian supremacy requires superior political, ideational, moral, and economic power translated into strong institutions that can regulate the military and limit its role in governance. A key finding of the volume is that, overall, the political power and influence of the military in Asia, though still considerable in some countries, is on the decline. At present only Burma and Pakistan are under military rule, though the military is the central pillar of the totalitarian regime in North Korea. The number of Asian countries under civilian rule has increased dramatically. However, the relationship between the state and the soldier is not a settled issue, and in democratizing countries, civil-military relations is still a contested domain that is being redefined incrementally, often through struggle. The study concludes that, in the long term, the power of the military will continue to decline, and that the growing dominance of democratic civilian control in Asia is likely to endure.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

List of Tables and Figures

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Contributors

Introduction

PART I. CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE

1. Investigating and Explaining Change: An Analytical Framework

PART II. DEMOCRATIC CIVILIAN CONTROL

2. Japan: From Containment to Normalization

3. India: The New Militaries

PART III. CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC CIVILIAN CONTROL

4. South Korea: Consolidating Democratic Civilian Control

5. Taiwan: The Remaining Challenges

PART IV. TRANSITION TO DEMOCRATIC CIVILIAN CONTROL

6. The Philippines: Not So Military, Not So Civil

7. Thailand: The Struggle to Redefine Civil-Military Relations

8. Bangladesh: An Uneasy Accommodation

9. Indonesia: On a New Course?

PART V. ETHNIC AND DOMINANT PARTY CIVILIAN CONTROL

10. Malaysia: A Congruence of Interests

11. Singapore: Civil-Military Fusion

12. Sri Lanka: Transformation of Legitimate Violence and Civil-Military Relations

PART VI. COMMUNIST AND TOTALITARIAN CIVILIAN CONTROL

13. China: Conditional Compliance

14. Vietnam: From Revolutionary Heroes to Red Entrepreneurs

15. North Korea: Institutionalized Military Intervention

PART VII. MILITARY CONTROL OF THE STATE

16. Pakistan: Return to Praetorianism

17. Burma: Soldiers as State Builders

PART VIII. CONCLUSION

18. Asian Civil-Military Relations: Key Developments, Explanations, and Trajectories

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8047-7923-6

OCLC:

70722777