This book uniquely applies the security reform agenda to Southeast Asia. It investigates recent developments in civil-military relations in the region, looking in particular at the impact and utility of the agenda on the region and assessing whether it is likely to help make the region more stable and less prone to military interventions.

It provides an historical overview of the region's civil-military relations and goes on to explore the dynamics of civil-military relations within the context of the security sector reform framework, focusing on the experiences of four of the region's militaries: Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. It argues that although regional militaries have not necessarily followed a Western model, significant developments have occurred that are broadly in keeping with the security sector reform agenda, and which suggests that the prospects for stable civil-military relations are brighter than some sceptics believe.