Thailand’s new right, social cleansing and the continuing military–monarchy entente

The article looks at the nature of the state and society in contemporary Thailand using a comparative historical analysis. Thailand is led by an officer corps, faithful only to the monarchy regime, while the land is at the disposal of the absolute sovereign who unquestionably holds control over its terrain, resources and people. It is a mix of Siamese palingenetic ultranationalist sentiment with re-interpretations of a conservative Buddhist ideology which is based on the morality and right of the rulers to rule. To the military leaders, its general officers, the military–monarchy nexus embodies a supreme source of secular morality and power with the right to dominate and where the ends (always) justify the means. Thai society has become irreparably divided by the interests of the ruling elites, defining the exceptions and, it is argued, comparable to historical and contemporary authoritarian regimes elsewhere. The article argues that the country, led by the New Right, articulates disarming elements of semi-fascism under the military, in a compact with the interests of the monarchy.

Improving the Civil-Military Relationship: Diversity and the U.S. Army

Although the U.S. Army has significantly increased racial diversity in the aggregate, non-white Americans remain underrepresented as commissioned officers, especially in the General Officer ranks. This is a significant defense policy problem because research shows a strong correlation among the diversity of senior leaders and effectively processing complex information to generate innovative, creative, and efficient solutions. These positive traits of diversity will help General Officers prepare for and manage the long-term and strategic threats posed by peer or near-peer competitors and violent non-state actors. Increased diversity also improves the civil-military relationship by ensuring Army Generals mirror the nation they serve and the soldiers they lead. This paper addresses the lack of racial diversity among U.S. Army General Officers by using descriptive statistical analysis to outline racial diversity trends over the past 10-years and then identifying where and how policies can be most effective. The paper’s findings provide policy makers three options to increase U.S. Army General’s racial diversity.

Current Situation of Corruption Offenses and Measures for Improvement of Anti-Corruption Effectiveness in Vietnam’s Economy

Along with the promulgation of 2008 Law on Anti-Corruption, thanking to the comprehensive solutions anddeterminations of the whole governmental apparatus, there are signals of a positive change in the fight againstcorruption in Vietnam’s market economy. However, compared to other countries around the world, thecorruption in Vietnam is still a national problem. The number of corruption cases may decline, but the scaleand severity has been increasing. Many cases has involved high-ranking officials in the government withmore than 20 general officers in the armed forces to be sentenced. On the basis of analysing the currentsituation of corruption in recent years, the author hereby recommends some synchronous solutions to improvethe effectiveness of anti-corruption.

France: Civil-Military Relations in the Antiterrorist Frame

French civil–military relations are usually described as an example of subordination of the military command to political authorities. This subordination is the legacy of the mutual distrust inherited from the “events” in Algeria and, more specifically, the coups in Algiers in 1958 and 1961 that gave birth to the current Fifth Republic. With the end of the Cold War, civil–military relations have rebalanced to the benefit of general officers because of the increasingly technical nature of external interventions and the consolidation of interprofessional relations with diplomats and industrial networks, facilitating the return of some officers into decision-making circuits. After this functional reintegration, the antiterrorist framing, both outside of the country (Opération Serval in January 2013 in Mali) and within France’s borders (Opération Sentinelle , which followed the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris), seems to recast the military as the forge of the national community. The evolution of the political uses of the military forces in France shows how ambivalent the antiterrorist resources are in the contemporary civil–military game.

Not Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth Is: Retired Flag Officers and Presidential Endorsements

Endorsements by retired flag and general officers are now a fixture of the presidential election cycle. However, their motivations are unclear. Retired flag officers might endorse with material, purposive, or solidarity motives. We evaluate these motivations with a new data set of 1,340 endorsements by 1,041 endorsers between 2004 and 2016 matched with campaign contributions. We find that campaign contributions, service in the Navy, and retiring as a higher ranked officer are all associated with an increased likelihood of endorsing. We conclude that about 10 retired flag officers participate to improve their material situation, 193 seek to advance their ideological preferences, and the remainder participate to demonstrate solidarity with their peers or acquaintances. These findings provide new insight into endorser motivations and civil–military relations.

Education of a Senior Officer

Almond began his transition to the Army’s senior leadership with attendance at the US Army War College, where his classmates included future five-star flag officers Omar Bradley and William Halsey. Moving directly to the War Department General Staff (WDGS) after graduation, Almond reported to Military Intelligence Division’s Latin America desk where monitored the activities of the military Attachés assigned to Central and South America. He sought more educational opportunities by attending the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) a precursor to the present-day Air War College, and the Naval War College, where his performance earned him a teaching spot. Few other future general officers attended two senior service colleges, and none attended all three. He turned down that job and went to VI Corps where he spent the last year before the next war conducting the large scale maneuver exercises that would prepare him for his next assignment.

Formation Skills of An Officer-Leader

Education of a cadet as a leader is integral to training of officers at many military educational institutions worldwide. A number of them appreciate the necessity of purposeful formation of psychological skills of a leader in future officers. However, psychological training of cadets is limited, since military specialty courses take the lead in the general officers training system. It is possible to create effective conditions for formation and development of psychological skills of a leader in future officers over a fairly short period of time using a role-playing game in the form of psychological hands-on classes. The research objectives were identifying the characteristics of the activities of army officers as leaders and a set of relevant psychological skills; making an overview of the need for leadership (psychological) training of cadets in various countries of the world based on study of official sites of military academies; outlining traditional approaches to education of a military leader and substantiating the expediency of using a role-playing game in the form of psychological hands-on classes; giving a description of a role-playing game; revealing the essence of individual psychological skills of an officer-leader and specifics of their enhancement in the course of a game. This paper reveals the theoretical and experimental aspects of research devoted to introduction of this role-playing game. In particular, it gives its description, identifies the psychological skills of an officer-leader that were studied, and describes the state of these skills enhancement.

PERANAN NOTARIS SEBAGAI SAKSI (SYÂHID) TERHADAP SUATU PERBUATAN MELAWAN HUKUM YANG DILAKUKAN PIHAK DALAM AKTA NOTARIS (Studi Perkara Nomor 269/Pid.B/2015/PN.PDG)

<em>Notary is one of the general officers authorized to create an authentic deed and other authorities as intended in the law. Notary can be called as a notary as a witness, suspect and accused in the event of an act against the law of the Outentic deed made in a notary public. The problem in this writing is 1) the role of notary as a witness against the deeds of the law committed by the parties in Notarial deed and 2) the judgment of judges in the verdict No. 269/Pid. B/2015/PN. PDG about the role of notary as a witness against the deeds of the law committed by the party in notarial deed. The research method used is a method of normative juridical approach empirical. The result of the study of notarial roles as witnesses of the Act against the law by the party in notarial deed came to fulfill the call as a witness in the interest of an investigation, a notary called for investigation Must be approved by the notary Honorary assembly and give information on what is provided by the Parties both oral and written in writing. Notary is called and needs his presence in the examination of criminal matters, in capacity as a general officer who makes authentic deed, it is necessary for his testimony of what is seen, heard and supporting evidence in the creation of authentic deeds The criminal matter, 2) the judgment of judges in the Decree No. 269/Pid. B/2015/PN. PDG about the role of notary as a witness against the deeds of the law conducted by the party in Notarial deed is a notary only as a witness called the court to be heard his description of the conduct of the law Done by the defendant is about the forgery of the SS signatures to make the letter of authorization selling and besides notary also called a witness from the notary party who is a witness in the making of the selling power deed.</em>

Great Battle of the West

Between September 19 and 20, 1863. Union and Confederate forces, including the Army of Tennessee, engaged in bloody combat near Chickamauga in Northern Georgia. The Confederates emerged victorious, which boosted morale. However, the army suffered almost 18,500 casualties, including 2,312 deaths. Officers Polk, Longstreet, and Hill began secret talks to oust Bragg in late September. On October 4, Longstreet and Hill along with 11 other officers signed a petition that falsely claimed Bragg was suffering from ill health. Polk was not present because Bragg had had him placed under arrest for defying orders and failing to attack at dawn September 20 in Alabama. News of the cabal spread to army headquarters, and Bragg was dismayed to hear that some officers he recommended for corps command were conspiring against him. President Jefferson Davis arrived in Georgia to meet with Bragg and his opponents to hear their grievances. Eventually, he declared that Bragg was still worthy of his position as General. Officers hostile to Bragg, including Hill and Polk, were given positions outside the Army of Tennessee.