In the midst of the political upheavals that engulfed Myanmar from 2010 to 2011, international attention was fixed upon the military regime and its dissident opponents. But away from the cameras, a very different set of struggles were unfolding across the country. These struggles were manifested not as violent clashes, but as everyday interactions involving taxi drivers, community organizers, farmers, heads of domestic NGOs, and many more. A product of five years' research, during which the author conducted over five hundred ethnographic interviews across the country, Pathways that Changed Myanmar provides a voice for those ordinary Burmese whose trials and aspirations went unheard and unnoticed during this pivotal moment in the nation's history.

In the midst of the political upheavals that engulfed Myanmar from 2010 to 2011, international attention was fixed upon the military regime and its dissident opponents. But away from the cameras, a very different set of struggles were unfolding across the country. These struggles were manifested not as violent clashes, but as everyday interactions involving taxi drivers, community organizers, farmers, heads of domestic NGOs, and many more. A product of five years' research, during which the author conducted over five hundred ethnographic interviews across the country, Pathways that Changed Myanmar provides a voice for those ordinary Burmese whose trials and aspirations went unheard and unnoticed during this pivotal moment in the nation's history.

Myanmar is in need of a structural transformation from an agrarian economy to one based more on a mix of modern activities, including manufacturing and services. Modernising the agricultural sector by building linkages to complementary non-agricultural activities – an “agricultural value chain” ...

ePDFs of chapters 4, 5 and 7 are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence This book centres on various contestations in Myanmar society and illustrates the ways in which these are reflected in civil society. The book offers a concise overview of recent political developments in the country, from the short-lived attempts at democratization to the 2021 military coup, and analyses the involvement of various civil society actors, as well as their international supporters. It incorporates multiple identities and fault lines in Myanmar society and explains how these influence diverse perceptions, framing and agenda setting as political developments unfold. The book provides an up-to-date overview of the main identities and contestations within Myanmar’s civil society and, by extension, within Myanmar society as a whole. It also gives recommendations to donors, policy makers and researchers wishing to better understand and support local civil society actors operating in repressive environments.

After an initial assessment of constraints to development in Myanmar found in Volume I, this Volume II assesses key issues and makes policy recommendations.

This new edition of Myanmar: Politics, Economy and Society provides a sophisticated yet accessible overview of the key political, economic and social challenges facing contemporary Myanmar and explains the complex historical and ethnic dynamics that have shaped the country. Thoroughly revised, the book analyses the context and tragic consequences of the military coup in February 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic. With clear and incisive contributions from the world’s leading Myanmar scholars, this book assesses the policies and political reforms that have provoked contestation in Myanmar’s recent history and driven both economic and social change. In this context, questions of economic ownership and control and the distribution of natural resources are shown to be deeply informed by long-standing fractures among ethnic and civil-military relations. The chapters analyse the key issues that constrain or expedite societal development in Myanmar and place recent events of national and international significance in the context of its complex history and social relations. The book provides detailed analysis of the coup, which overturned a decade of political and economic reforms and threw the country into chaos. It explains the drivers for the coup, how it has impacted on the country and the future prospects for accountability and justice. Filling a gap in the market, this research textbook and primer will be of interest to upper undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars of Southeast Asian politics, economics and society and to journalists and professionals working within governments, companies and other organisations.

Reforms in Myanmar (formerly Burma) have eased restrictions on citizens' political activities. Yet for most Burmese, Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung shows, eking out a living from day to day leaves little time for civic engagement. Citizens have coped with extreme hardship through great resourcefulness. But by making bad situations more tolerable in the short term, these coping strategies may hinder the emergence of the democratic values needed to sustain the country's transition to a more open political environment. Thawnghmung conducted in-depth interviews and surveys of 372 individuals from all walks of life and across geographical locations in Myanmar between 2008 and 2015. To frame her analysis, she provides context from countries with comparable political and economic situations. Her findings will be welcomed by political scientists and policy analysts, as well by journalists and humanitarian activists looking for substantive, reliable information about everyday life in a country that remains largely in the shadows.

Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.

Burma (Myanmar) is a Southeast Asian country that is emerging from crisis after more than a half century of hard-line military rule and cultural, diplomatic and economic isolation. With the dissolution of its military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, in 2011, a formally civilian but military-dominated constitutional government was inaugurated. By 2012, Burma’s president, retired General Thein Sein, had established a working relationship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement since 1988, and after a 2012 by-election she and members of her opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), entered the new Union Parliament as legislators. However, even with the election victory of Daw Suu Kyi and the NLD in the General Election of November 2015, Burma faces daunting challenges: it is still one of the poorest countries in Southeast, fissured by longstanding ethnic conflicts that have made a nationwide peace agreement elusive and its people’s security and the environment are threatened by foreign economic exploitation. Religious discord is also widely evident, as Buddhist militants instigate violence against the country’s religious minorities, especially Muslims. Today Burma’s prospects are the most hopeful they have been for over half a century, as the country takes steps along the road to a more open society and economy. This edition of the Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar) encompasses not only current developments, but also Burma’s over 1,500 years-old recorded history and the most important features of its cultures, ethnicity, religions, society and economy. This is done through achronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture.

Bringing together scholars and educators based in Myanmar, the USA, the UK, Denmark, and Thailand, this book presents new perspectives and research on the struggle for social justice and peace in Myanmar at this critical juncture. It shows how actors from diverse backgrounds and regions of Myanmar are drawing from their identities, evoking their agency, and using critical pedagogy to advance social justice and peace. The chapters provide the compelling life stories of the authors, specific examples of what they are doing, and insights of how their work might be applied to other contexts. The topics discussed include addressing structural violence, peace curriculum development, identity-based conflict, teaching the history of the country, promoting inclusion, civic education, critical pedagogy, teacher agency, and agendas of research funding for peacebuilding. The foreword and afterword, written by well-known scholars of Myanmar, address the relevance and importance of the book vis-a-vis the current social and political crisis following the February 2021 military coup.