Military Deployment in the Thai Capital

As political activity ahead of upcoming elections in Thailand increases — and along with it the potential for domestic unrest, including militant activity — the Thai military has begun deploying soldiers throughout the capital and neighboring districts. Ostensibly, the reason for the deployment is to prevent the country's Red Shirt anti-government movement from destabilizing the government, but it is also part of a larger trend of the Thai military positioning itself as the ultimate guarantor of political authority in the country.