ARTICLES

7 Jun 2022

Conflict Mismanagement: Beijing and Naypyidaw’s Counter-Effective Moves in Shan State

Drake Avila

Supporting Myanmar’s military junta while backing certain ethnic armed groups in Shan State is proving to be a riskier move for Beijing. The stakes will get higher if the spill-over from local conflicts paves the way for increased resistance to Naypyitaw.

1 Jun 2022

Beware of False Peace in Myanmar

Htet Myet Min Tun

Despite recent rhetoric from the State Administration Council seeking ‘peace talks’ with ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar, the prospect of true peace will remain elusive for as long as the generals are selling old wine in new bottles.

Myanmar Myanmar Military Myanmar Politics

12 May 2022

The Next Phase of Myanmar’s 2021 Spring Revolution Turns on Contested Local Authority

Aung Tun

As the Arakan Army establishes more control over Rakhine State, the future success of the national revolution may hinge on whether a parallel local administrative system can be established in other areas including Myanmar’s heartland. Providing a workable alternative to the State Administration Council’s governance will enable the revolution to mature as it meets the people’s demands for rule of law and governance.

Myanmar Myanmar Military Myanmar Politics

18 Apr 2022

An Unexpected Stillness in the Heart of Wartime Myanmar

Mary Callahan

The monks in Pakokku, a major centre of Buddhist learning and training, have not reprised the role played by their predecessors in the historic Saffron Revolution in 2007. Several factors can explain this, the foremost of which revolves around the clergy’s conception of order and hierarchy.

Armed Conflict Myanmar Myanmar Military Myanmar Politics Religion

11 Apr 2022

Silent Strikes: Striking Against the SAC’s Chance to Govern

Aung

The SAC’s brutal crackdowns on Myanmar protestors have had limited effect on the creative ‘silent strikes’ organised on three occasions since February 2021. Townships throughout the country became ‘ghost towns’ to protest the SAC’s atrocities, and there are hints that these actions have unsettled some within the regime.

Myanmar Myanmar Military Myanmar Politics

1 Apr 2022

Myanmar’s Post-coup Electricity Woes: Stalled Power Plans, Shattered Public Trust

Khine Win

Two years ago, and even a year ago in the aftermath of the 1 February 2021 coup, Yangon was not suffering severe blackouts. While there were sporadic electricity cuts for a few hours a day in some of its townships, electricity supply was more stable and predictable than ten or fifteen years earlier. This experience has left city dwellers wondering what accounts for the severe power cuts now.

Myanmar Myanmar Economy Myanmar Military

24 Mar 2022

ASEAN Special Envoy in Myanmar: Too Little, Too Late?

Sharon Seah|Joanne Lin

The recent visit to Myanmar by ASEAN’s Special Envoy has been disappointing. It might be time to reconsider the grouping’s five-point consensus.

ASEAN ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting Myanmar Myanmar Politics

23 Mar 2022

Myanmar Returns to Import Substitution: Primed to Fail

Khine Win

The State Administration Council has initiated a raft of import substitution policies in an attempt to support domestic industralisation. This approach was tried in the past – and failed.

Myanmar Myanmar Economy Myanmar Military

21 Mar 2022

Separatists, Conflict and Refugees: Geopolitics Along Thailand and India’s Myanmar Border

Su-Ann Oh

The February 2021 coup in Myanmar has thrown up a new raft of problems for Thailand and India. The re-assembling of Indian separatist groups in Myanmar, the spillover from armed conflict and the arrival of refugees in Thailand and India are just the tip of the iceberg.

India-Myanmar Relations Myanmar Myanmar-Thailand Relations

18 Mar 2022

Community-led Social Cohesion in Post-Coup Myanmar: A Promising Glimmer

Aung Tun

The popular resistance has issued a clarion call for a federal democratic Myanmar, based on inclusive politics. The practice of social cohesion constitutes both a starting point for building inclusive politics, and a much-needed trust-building exercise in a heavily trust-deficient Myanmar society.

Myanmar Myanmar Politics