When Myanmar’s military staged a coup on February 1, 2021, many assumed history would repeat itself. The junta, with decades of experience in repression and vast firepower, was seen as “too big to fail.” Previous uprisings in 1988 and 2007 had been brutally crushed, as were the anti-coup protests thatContinue Reading
Myanmar’s economy is set to shrink by 2 percent this financial year, due to the effects of intensifying conflict and economic mismanagement by the military junta, according to the latest Myanmar economic outlook from the research group BMI. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, cited the World Bank’s recent projectionContinue Reading
Almost everyone in Myanmar wants democracy, yet few have considered what kind of democracy best aligns with the country’s political realities. Myanmar has endured decades of political instability, ethnic conflict, and economic inequality, stemming from a system that fails to represent all ethnic groups fairly. Different factions have competing visionsContinue Reading
Myanmar has endured protracted ethno-political conflicts for decades. Since the military coup in February 2021, the situation has escalated to a new level. Technology is playing a significant role in the evolution of the civil war, as both sides add new weapons to their arsenals. Over the past three years,Continue Reading
Paul Greening works as a political analyst and a specialist consultant covering the conflict in Myanmar from his base in Mae Sot on the Thai border and is a regular guest with Beyond the Mekong, sharing his insights into the troubled country. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt aboutContinue Reading
Myanmar is currently at a pivotal moment, and the U.S. has the opportunity to turn the country’s crisis into a foreign policy success story. Since the 2021 military coup, violence has escalated, displacing millions and creating a severe humanitarian crisis. Ethnic and religious minority regions like Chin, Kachin, Karen, andContinue Reading
“The Union long united must be divided and long divided must be united. Thus, it has ever been.” If you are an avid follower and reader of Chinese history and literature, you may sense that the above line is a copy and twist from the opening line of the “RomanceContinue Reading
The military junta in Myanmar has extended its state of emergency for another six months, in order to prepare for an election that it has promised to hold sometime later this year. According to a report in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the decision was made at aContinue Reading
On November 27, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan announced the submission of an arrest warrant application about the 2016-2017 violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which led to the mass displacement of the Rohingya population into Bangladesh. Khan’s office has been investigating these atrocities, and the prosecutorContinue Reading
At the start of this month, Malaysia assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the aim of fostering political stability and economic prosperity for its members. The organization, which has been wrought with division in recent years, looked to be transitioning to a safe pair ofContinue Reading
