What Do You Think About Thailand Conscription

The need for conscription depends on the country.

For a small country (e.g. Israel) faced with major threats, everyone serving for 2 years is indispensible for survival of the nation. For some smaller countries (e.g. Finland), basic training for everyone makes sense in case a full mobilization is necessary in case of war. For a larger country without existential threats (e.g. US, UK), it doesn't make much military or economic sense. Unlike in the past, modern defense capabilities do not call for millions of untrained warm bodies, but rather for well-equipped, well-trained professional forces.

The problem is that armed forces are often is often a power center, focused on its own position in the society and influence rather than strictly on the rational benefit of the country or defense issues. Generals and their associates require plenty of warm bodies to maintain their own status, sometimes to use them as slave labor, and often push patriotic propaganda touting conscription as necessary.

Thai military is atypical. It is not primarily tasked with defending the country from external threats, as militaries normally are. They are a political force within the country, tasked with protecting the ruling elite against their own people. Military structure and ranks completely reflect internal power struggles and patronage networks, not defense needs of the country. Famously, Thailand has more generals than tanks. In the last 30 years, most of their operations have been oriented at internal affairs, and they killed way more Thai civilians than external enemies.

Thailand does not need conscription to defend itself from external armed threats, whatever those might be. However, it absolutely needs it to maintain the oversized military that it has, to keep the hundreds of generals with the status and power they currently have, and that they won't give up easily.

/r/Thailand Thread