scholarly journals Quo Vadis Myanmar?: Military Rule, the 2010 Election and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatswan S. Sidhu
Keyword(s):  
Political Reform ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
National Convention ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
National League ◽  
Quo Vadis ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
The Military

Myanmar (or formerly Burma) has been ruled by the military (tatmadaw) since 1962 and although multiparty elections were held in 1990, the Myanmar military junta simply refused to accept the results and transfer power to the National League Democracy (NLD) that won with a landslide victory. Instead, the Myanmar military junta announced its own version of political reform through the introduction of a “disciplined democracy” and as such convened a National Convention for the purpose of drafting a new constitution for the country. The constitution was finally approved in 2008 through a referendum that was highly rigged. Based on provisions of the 2008 Constitution, the military junta held another round of multiparty elections on 7 November 2010. Taking stock of events since 1988 and in the light of recent developments, this paper therefore attempts to gauge the future direction of the country’s political landscape by interpreting and analyzing recent events. More importantly, it would attempt to show how much change can be expected in Myanmar especially when taking into account a flawed Constitution, a highly rigged elections and a new pseudo-civilian government. In other words, is there going to be real political change or are the elections a mere window dressing by the country’s military junta?  

Myanmar’s ethnic parties will unite as polls approach

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethnic Parties ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
National League ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military

Subject Myanmar's political landscape ahead of next year's elections. Significance As the next general election appears on the horizon, parliament last month began debating possible amendments to the constitution. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which controls the civilian portion of government, wants to reduce the military’s reserved parliamentary quota. Meanwhile, the NLD faces increased criticism from parties representing the country’s ethnic minorities. Impacts There is unlikely to be any progress in the country's peace process, aimed at ending conflicts between the military and ethnic armed groups. The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party will aim to enhance its internal organisation. As attention turns to the polls, the government will devote even fewer resources than currently to resolving the Rohingya refugee crisis.

scholarly journals Othering the minority: Comparative Study of Papua Ethnic in Indonesia and Rohingnya Ethnic In Myanmar During Military Rule

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33
Author(s):  
Insan Praditya Anugrah
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Military Regime ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
New Order ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
The Military

The paper examines the comparative study of subaltern between Papua in Indonesia’s New Order era and Rohingya in Myanmar during military rule. In Indonesia, the Papuan case is an example of how the centralistic military regime treats Papuan ethnic as an object and treats them as “the others” rather than considers them as a part of the “Indonesian entity” as the subject itself. Meanwhile, in Myanmar, Rohingya case is an example of how the centralistic military junta regime treats Rohingya ethnic as “the others” and considers them as foreigners in Myanmar. This paper found a significant difference between the treatment of the Indonesian military regime towards Papuan ethnic and the treatment of the Myanmar military junta regime towards Rohingya ethnic. In Indonesia, the military regime acknowledges Papuan as a citizen of Indonesia. However, the regime considers Papuan as the “different other” nonetheless. Their different race and ethnicity from Java and Malay ethnic as the majority ethnic are not the subjects of the cause, yet it is caused by Papuan traditional behavior which is regarded as “backward” as by the central regime. Meanwhile in Myanmar, since the enforcement of citizenship law in 1982, the military regime clearly does not acknowledge Rohingya from state citizenship because of their identities, such as religion and Rohingya's historical background.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Ruth Streicher
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Military Regime ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
The South ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military

This concluding chapter studies the politics of the current military junta from the vantage point of the southern Thai counterinsurgency. Imperial practices of policing, it argues, are now applied on a national scale. The continuities of the imperial formation are key to understanding how the current military regime operates. For one, the military centrally relies on counterinsurgency techniques. In this reading, the counterinsurgency campaign in the South has helped to revive important practices and institutions of policing that seemed to have vanished after the Cold War, and, as in other imperial laboratories — European colonies that served as sites for experimenting with modern practices of government — it has helped to develop innovations that the junta now deploys to govern the country. What is more, the current military regime puts into play the axes of difference that undergird the Thai imperial formation, thus fortifying its structure to stabilize military rule.

"Revolutionary Jurisprudence"

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
The Military

This chapter examines how the Free Officers laid the groundwork for their revolution. During the first six months in power, the officers gradually came to see themselves not only as the vanguard of the struggle for national independence but as legitimate rulers of Egypt. They acted swiftly, purging political ranks and reforming the constitution. They abolished the political parties and assumed direct authority over the country. This was how the Free Officers declared their revolution. The chapter first considers the “blessed movement,” the term used by the Free Officers to refer to themselves, and the military junta they established before discussing the two factions, known as the minimalists and maximalists, that differed in attitude toward the issue of military rule. It also explores how the Free Officers' abolition of political parties intersect with the controversies of the previous six months: the resistance to voluntary “purification” and party organization, and opposition to land reform.

Personalization and Institutional Constraints: Pinochet, the Military Junta, and the 1980 Constitution

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Barros
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Standard Account ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Personal Power ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
The Military

AbstractThe standard account of military dictatorship in Chile (1973–1990) portrays the case as a personalist regime, and uses the dynamics associated with this type of regime to explain General Pinochet's control of the presidency, the enactment of the 1980 Constitution, and the longevity of military rule. Drawing on records of the decisionmaking process within the military junta, this article presents evidence for a different characterization of the dictatorship. It shows that Pinochet never attained the supremacy commonly attributed to him, that the commanders of the other branches of the armed forces retained significant powers, and that the 1980 Constitution was not enacted to project Pinochet's personal power. More generally, this study suggests that personal power is not a necessary condition for regime longevity; collective systems can also produce cohesion and stability.

Myanmar's political civilianisation may face 2015 test

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
National Interest ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aung San Suu Kyi ◽  
National League ◽  
The Military

Subject The outlook for Myanmar's political transition from military rule. Significance Myanmar holds elections in late 2015, the first since exiting full military rule; the Tatmadaw (military) is relinquishing power, reinterpreting its relationship with the state. Nonetheless, it remains politically significant. Reported today, President Thein Sein asserts that through "being involved in national politics" the Tatamdaw "is assisting in the flourishing of democracy". The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and leader Aung San Suu Kyi disagree, although Suu Kyi underlines building constructive links with the Tatmadaw, as she told an NLD rally on March 1. Impacts As it leaves politics, the Tatmadaw's leadership will seek a new institutional focus. This will probably see force capability modernisation and efforts to enhance troops' professionalism. Tatmadaw leaders will try to balance their perceptions of the national interest with pro-democracy feeling in the military. Stakeholders will cooperate with the Tatmadaw as Myanmar transitions politically; the military will reciprocate where it agrees.

"The Great Deception"

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
National Liberation ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Democratic Movement ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
Communist Movement ◽  
Ideological Influence ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Military

This chapter examines how the relations between the military junta and its allies, particularly communists and the Muslim Brotherhood, deteriorated. The Democratic Movement for National Liberation (DMNL), the largest and least doctrinaire communist movement in Egypt, and Muslim Brotherhood had collaborated with the Free Officers and played significant supporting roles in their coup. The officers were thus confronted with two crucial questions: First, what debt, if any, did they owe their allies? Second, what ideological influence would these movements exert on the course of social and political reform? The chapter shows that the Free Officers gradually distanced themselves from the Muslim Brotherhood and abruptly turned on the communists. It considers the Command Council of the Revolution's (CCR) decision to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood as well as its campaign against communism. It argues that the CCR's relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and the communist movements were influenced more by power politics than by ideology.

Myanmar’s Transition and the Resurgence of Buddhist Nationalism

Asian Survey ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1072-1089
Author(s):  
Marie-Eve Reny
Keyword(s):  
Primary Reason ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
National League ◽  
Strong Contender

Myanmar began a transition in 2011 that ended almost 50 years of military rule. During the transition, a nationalist movement called for protecting Buddhism from an “Islamic threat.” Anti-Islam nationalism was not new in Burmese history, yet the timing of its resurgence deserves attention. I argue that the incumbents’ anticipated electoral weakness in transitional elections was the primary reason for its resurgence. The incumbents sought to maximize societal support, and they faced a strong contender, the National League for Democracy, whose probability of winning was high. Social opposition was also significant by the time military rule ended. In a campaign to pass reforms to better “protect” Buddhism, the incumbents used monks to cast doubt on the NLD’s ability to represent Buddhist interests and to recruit former regime opponents who were nationalists. The incumbents garnered wide support for the reforms, yet it was insufficient for an electoral victory.

How Predatory Informal Rules Outlast State Reform: Evidence from Postauthoritarian Guatemala

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
State Reform ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Face ◽  
Informal Rules ◽  
Customs Administration

ABSTRACT The coexistence of predatory informal rules alongside formal democratic institutions is a defining, if pernicious, feature of Latin America’s political landscape. How do such rules remain so resilient in the face of bureaucratic reforms? This article explicates the mechanisms underlying the persistence of such rules and challenges conventional explanations through process-tracing analysis in one arena: Guatemala’s customs administration. During Guatemala’s period of armed conflict and military rule, military intelligence officers introduced a powerful customs fraud scheme that endured for more than 20 years, despite state reforms. Its survival is best attributed to the ability of the distributional coalition underwriting the predatory rules to capture new political and economic spaces facilitated by political party and market reforms. This illustrates that distributional approaches to institutional change must attend to how those with a stake in the status quo may continue to uphold perverse institutional arrangements on the margins of state power.

The Military Post-Mugabe

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-188
Author(s):  
Godfrey Maringira
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Military

This article argues that, through the coup, the military has become more visible in national politics in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. The current situation under President Mnangagwa marks a qualitative difference with the military under Mugabe’s rule. Currently, in now being more prominent, the military is politics and is the determinant of any political transition that may be forthcoming in Zimbabwe. However, if it deems it necessary, the military accommodates civilian politicians into politics in order to ‘sanitize’ the political landscape in its own interests. Simultaneously, despite their involvement in the coup, ordinary soldiers feel increasingly marginalized under Mnangagwa’s government.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document