Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia ed. by Paul Chambers and Napisa Waitoolkiat (review)

Khaki Capital is a significant work that touches on a range of issues concerning civil–military relations and the linkage between economic, military and political power in developing states. It catalogues the enduring roles of the military across much of Southeast Asia. Interestingly, however, it does not have chapters on Brunei, Malaysia or Singapore, though perhaps this is not too surprising given that these three states emerged peacefully from British colonial rule and London transferred control to designated or elected successors. That different and less military-dominated experience left their respective militaries with a weaker position from which to exercise what the authors describe as military capital, or "khaki capital".

The book defines khaki capital as "a form of income generation whereby the military, as the state-legitimized and dominant custodian-of-violence, establishes a mode of production that enables it to (a) influence state budgets to extract open or covert financial allocations; (b) to extract, transfer and distribute financial resources; and (c) to create financial or career opportunities" (p. 7). This is a catchy and useful concept that helps explain how the militaries of many Southeast Asian countries have exercised power and influence since independence through to the present—although with application to other parts of the world as well, no doubt.

Khaki capital, they argue, is predatory in nature, possessing formal dimensions (budgetary allocations from government) and informal ones (semi-legal or illegal activities). The informal ones include "slush funds", investments in private enterprises, militaryrelated commercial opportunities and even military collusion with criminal interests. The authors make a strong case that "the greater control which militaries have over economic resources, then the more insulated they tend to be from civilian political control" (p. 328). This economic dominance, they argue, leads to greater autonomy and to inertia for sustaining or expanding economic holdings. That wealth turns into political power, which "serves as a self-perpetuating mechanism" (p. 3).

The book begins with a chapter explaining the theoretical framework utilized by the authors, followed by country specific ones on Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The first two chapters are written by the book's editors, Paul Chambers and Napisa Waitoolkiat. Chapter One, "Theorizing Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of Security", explains the concept of khaki capital and its utility for helping us understand military, political and economic power at work in Southeast Asia. Chapter Two, "Arch Royalist Rent: The Political Economy of the Military in Thailand", explains how this unfolds in the only Southeast Asian country that was never colonized by Europeans—Thailand. Yet, as the authors argue, "the dividends on khaki capital are alive and well today. The historical legacy of palace-military authoritarianism and armed forces' unity behind a highly esteemed monarchy has so far prevented any disruption from the path dependence of military prowess" (p. 41). The 2014 coup, they argue, has "seen the resurgence of the armed forces' economic clout" (p. 82), with khaki capital "showing no signs of dissipating under the current military rule" (p. 83).

In the third chapter, "The NLD-Military Coalition in Myanmar: Military Guardianship and Its Economic Foundations", Marco Bünte examines Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw. Bünte makes clear that the Tatmadaw has been allowed to "permeate all of the country's main state institutions, the economy and society and that despite the 2011 elections, it remains firmly entrenched, exercising the role of "guardian of the political order", protecting its interests "from a position of strength" (p. 122). In Chapter Four, Carlyle A. Thayer considers "The Political Economy of Military Run Enterprises in Vietnam". Thayer demonstrates how decades after the end of the Second Indochina War (or Vietnam War), the People's Army of Vietnam remains heavily engaged in an array of economic enterprises, with senior military and former military officials holding important political and economic appointments.

Chambers is also...