Thailand’s military has recently reclaimed its role as the central pillar of Thai politics. This raises an enduring question in civil-military relations: why do people with guns choose to obey those without guns? One of the most prominent theories in both academic and policy circles is Samuel Huntington’s argument that professional militaries do not become involved in politics. We engage this premise in the Thai context. Utilizing data from a new and unique survey of 569 Thai military officers as well as results from focus groups and interviews with military officers, we evaluate the attitudes of Thai servicemen and develop a test of Huntington’s hypothesis. We demonstrate that increasing levels of professionalism are generally poor predictors as to whether or not a Thai military officer prefers an apolitical military. Indeed, our research suggests that higher levels of professionalism as described by Huntington may run counter to civilian control of the military. These findings provide a number of contributions. First, the survey allows us to operationalize and measure professionalism at the individual level. Second, using these measures we are able to empirically test Huntington’s hypothesis that more professional soldiers should prefer to remain apolitical. Finally, we provide an uncommon glimpse at the opinions of Thai military officers regarding military interventions, adding to the relatively sparse body of literature on factors internal to the Thai military which push officers toward politics.

中文翻译：

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专业人士和士兵：衡量泰国军队的专业水平

泰国军队最近重新发挥了其作为泰国政治中心支柱的作用。这在军民关系中提出了一个持久的问题：为什么有枪的人选择服从没有枪的人？学术界和政策界最突出的理论之一是塞缪尔·亨廷顿 (Samuel Huntington) 的论点，即职业军队不参与政治。我们在泰国语境中使用这个前提。利用来自对 569 名泰国军官的全新独特调查的数据以及焦点小组和军官访谈的结果，我们评估了泰国军人的态度并开发了亨廷顿假设的检验。我们证明，专业水平的提高通常无法预测泰国军官是否更喜欢与政治无关的军队。确实，我们的研究表明，亨廷顿所描述的更高水平的专业精神可能与文职人员对军队的控制背道而驰。这些发现提供了许多贡献。首先，该调查使我们能够在个人层面实施和衡量专业水平。其次，使用这些措施，我们能够实证检验亨廷顿的假设，即更专业的士兵应该更愿意保持与政治无关。最后，我们对泰国军官对军事干预的看法提供了一个不寻常的一瞥，增加了关于泰国军队内部推动军官走向政治的因素的相对稀少的文献。首先，该调查使我们能够在个人层面实施和衡量专业水平。其次，使用这些措施，我们能够实证检验亨廷顿的假设，即更专业的士兵应该更愿意保持与政治无关。最后，我们对泰国军官对军事干预的看法提供了一个不寻常的一瞥，增加了关于泰国军队内部推动军官走向政治的因素的相对稀少的文献。首先，该调查使我们能够在个人层面实施和衡量专业水平。其次，使用这些措施，我们能够实证检验亨廷顿的假设，即更专业的士兵应该更愿意保持与政治无关。最后，我们对泰国军官对军事干预的看法提供了一个不寻常的一瞥，增加了关于泰国军队内部推动军官走向政治的因素的相对稀少的文献。