During a conference in Bangkok in August, signs of a three-way tussle among Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his political opponents and the military were already evident. For example, a former army chief who remains influential as an adviser to the king made a point of wearing the uniform while addressing serving army officers and telling them that their primary loyalty was to the king and nation, not to the government of the day.

The list of military interventions in Third World countries is long, although mercifully less common in recent times. Distaste for rule by generals grew with greater awareness of the excessive brutality and gross incompetence of military rule from Argentina and Chile to Myanmar and the Philippines.

The monopoly of force and coercive power facilitates the capture of political power by the military. Even the weakest army is the strongest coercive institution in a country and possesses enough firepower to displace a civilian regime. Moreover, the professional traits of the military are conducive to taking over control. The structure is hierarchical and centralized, emphasizing discipline and obedience to rank and office rather than to individuals. Channels of communication stress clarity and rapidity of message transmission. Yet, simultaneously, internal secrecy is both a requirement and a habit.