The Role of Military Elites in Democratic Transition with Specific Focus on Educational Reforms (Cases of Myanmar and Thailand, 2006-2015)

At the dawn of 21st century, educational policy formulation becomes an important agenda to governments across the world. Many of existing researches demonstrated the extent to which periodic shifts in politics is the vital substance to reset the parameters for educational policymaking. This thesis conducts "Actor Center Analysis" and investigates the role of military elites in the democratic transition by comparing two cases from the same geographical region - Myanmar and Thailand. And it examines How and Why did Myanmar and Thai’s military governments transform its influential power in politics by conceptualizing civil-military coalition. It clarifies the way the regimes maintain political stabilities, modernizing the ideology, values, and promoting better social welfare policies with a particular focus on "Educational Sectors" by conducting semi-structural interviews with experts from both countries. This deductive approached thesis concludes that although the global democratization trend is hopeful, it is not very acceptable for “New Professionalized” militaries to go back to the barracks and remain silent from national politics. Finally, this research intends to pave the way for conditional assistances based on an objective diagnosis of the current needs and situation, to assist the newly elected government and other stakeholders to formulate "Pure Policies" for Myanmar education sector with the comparison of its neighboring country, Thailand. Key words: Myanmar, Thailand, Comparison, Military elites, Oligarchy, Regime, Education, Democratic Transition, Public Policy, and State-building.