The New Thai King’s Volunteer Army

Over the past few months, there has been some scrutiny on the army of volunteers being mobilized under Thailand’s new king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, as he seeks to consolidate his power following his father’s passing in October 2016. Although the notion of a volunteer army for the monarchy has a long history in Thailand, the current development is being interpreted as a sign of Vajiralongkorn consolidating his power as a military junta still governs the Southeast Asian nation.

The idea of the monarchy having its own dedicated personnel is hardly a new development in Thailand, which today remains a constitutional monarchy governed by a military junta. Specific regiments within the Thai military have long been dedicated to the protection of the royal family under the labels of the King’s Guard and Queen’s Guard. Consistent with the link between the Thai monarchy and military, the patterns of promotions of military officers from within these units, down to their units and graduating classes, are often scrutinized to determine what that means for the balance of power between different forces in Thailand.

The notion of the spirit of volunteerism – jit arsa – has also long been closely linked to the monarchy in Thailand, with volunteer corps raised under the leadership of the late king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who held the title for over seven decades, and Queen Mother Sikrit as well. At times, this has raised concerns about their role, as was the case with the establishment of the Village Protection Force (Or Ror Bor) in the insurgency-wracked, Muslim-majority provinces of southern Thailand, which added to a troubling trend of the rise of paramilitary forces there.

Despite this mixed picture, the spirit of volunteerism has often been highlighted by the Thai state as part of an effort to glorify the monarchy. A case in point was last year when attention was paid to the numerous volunteers who did unpaid work related to the cremation of the late king Bhumibol. The Bangkok Post reported in October 2017 that during the royal cremation period following Bhumibol’s death, over 2 million Thais volunteered for an array of unpaid tasks to serve the late monarch one last time, including catering, funeral flower distribution, first aid, and traffic safety.

The current political dynamics, however, have put even more scrutiny on this aspect of the monarchy. Since the death of Bhumibol in October 2016, the focus has been on how his successor, Maha Vajiralongkorn, seeks to consolidate his power, and how those efforts have in turn affected the balance of power between several forces. These include ruling military junta itself, which took power in a coup in May 2014, and key institutions tied to the monarchy such as the body of royal advisers known as the Privy Council.

One manifestation of this has been the recruitment of an army of royal volunteers. While recruitment for these purposes is ongoing, the volunteers have been in the spotlight over the past few months, with a case in point being their involvement in the dramatic Thai cave rescue effort in the summer, which generated some headlines in both local and international media outlets. Reuters quoted anonymous officials as claiming that more than 4 million volunteers had now joined the scheme, and suggested that this was the product of a more aggressive effort by Vajiralongkorn to build up his power base independent of the military.

To be sure, Vajiralongkorn is no stranger to power politics in Thailand. He had served in the King’s Guard when he was crown prince. While media attention has long been placed on less glorifying aspects of his life – be it his spending habits outside of Thailand, his short temper, or a string of affairs – as heir to his father, he has shown clear signs of wanting to further cement his authority as well, such as when he ordered revisions be made to the military-drafted constitution last year.

Yet for all the hype, the suggestion that the volunteer army is some sort of broader power play by the king against the military looks rather overstated for now. First, as mentioned before, seasoned observers understand that the volunteer army has long been a feature of the monarchy, and is not unique to Vajiralongkorn. With Bhumibol’s death and Vajiralongkorn’s ascendancy to the throne, it is only expected that a recruitment drive would be stepped up to build up his own following.

Second, there is little evidence that Vajiralongkorn is employing the volunteer army as a substantive tool of real political or military power, as opposed to a symbolic marker of his authority. Unlike the King’s Guard and the Queen’s Guard, the volunteer army has traditionally been tasked with nonmilitary tasks such as directing traffic and providing first aid. Thus far, there is no indication of a dramatic shift away from this precedent.

Third and finally, there is not nearly enough evidence thus far to suggest definitively that Vajiralongkorn is on a systematic effort to distance himself from the military by building up some sort of independent power base. For the new king, the military – a shorthand for a highly factionalized institution in Thai politics – presents both an opportunity as well as a challenge: It has helped usher in the royal transition that has in turn provided room for him to strengthen his authority, but it also expects to have its share of power and its interests preserved. The military also exists alongside Vajiralongkorn’s wider concerns regarding his reputation among the Thai people, especially since he does not enjoy the reverence afforded to his father.

A far more likely explanation for the increased recruitment of army volunteers has to do less with the actual exercise of political or military power and more with propping up the legitimacy of the monarchy as an institution. With his coronation set to occur soon, Vajiralongkorn no doubt realizes he needs to build up his reputation among the Thai people following his father’s death. Thailand’s ruling junta, for its part, is more than happy to encourage this as well, realizing that some degree of legitimacy for the monarchy is needed to strengthen its own rule and preserve the status quo. 

To be sure, Vajiralongkorn’s reign has just begun, and he could well eventually use the various institutions at his disposal differently than monarchs of the past. But at least for now, Thailand’s new king still appears to be employing the old notion of a volunteer army in rather traditional ways.