Is Myanmar (Burma) democratizing, or is it moving towards a new form of authoritarianism, perhaps one more consonant with other contemporary authoritarian regimes in Asia? Coming at a critical time, and one of growing interest in this Southeast Asian country among researchers and policy-makers, Debating Democratization in Myanmar addresses this complex question from a range of disciplinary and professional perspectives. Chapters by leading international scholars and practitioners, activists and politicians from Myanmar and around the world cover political and economic updates, as well as the problems of democratization; the re-engagement of democratic activists and exiles in domestic affairs; the new parliament, the electoral system, and everyday politics; prospects for the economy; ethnic cooperation, contestation and conflict; the role of the army and police forces; and conditions for women. Together they constitute an empirically deep and analytically rich source of readable and relevant material for anyone keen to obtain a greater understanding of what is happening in Myanmar today, and why.
Nick Cheesman is Lecturer at the Department of Political and Social Change, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific. Nicholas Farrelly is a Research Fellow at the School of Internatioal, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific. Trevor Wilson is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political amd Social Change, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.
Foreword by Winston Set Aung, (former) Deputy Minister of National Planning & Economic Development, Myanmar. 1. Introduction 2. Prospects for Myanmar's Democratization Process by Morten Pedersen. Encouraging Signs 3. Myanmar's Parliament: From Scorn to Significance by Thomas Kean 4. Land Law, Village Networks and Democracy in Myanmar by Tamas Wells and Kyaw Thu Aung 5. Exile to Elections: Politics in Post-2010 Myanmar - Personal Experiences and Reflections by Than Than Nu 6. Sidelined or Re-inventing Themselves? Exiled Activists and Democratization in Myanmar by Kerstin Duell 7. Understanding Recent Labour Protests in Myanmar by Kyaw Soe Lwin Anticipating Reforms 8. Economic Update - Macro-Economy, Fiscal Reform, Development Options by Anders Engvall and Soe Nandar Linn 9. Economic Reform in Burma: A Stock Take - The Glass Has Water: Exchange Rate, Financial System, Investment and Sectoral Policies by Sean Turnell 10. Police Reform and the 'Civilianization' of Security in Myanmar by Andrew Selth 11. The Electoral System Reform Discussion in Myanmar by Kyle Lemargie, Andrew Reynolds, Peter Erben and David Ennis. Enduring Concerns 12. 'Praetorianism' in Post-junta Myanmar: Revisiting the Political Intervention of the Burmese Armed Forces in the 2010s by Renaud Egreteau 13. State Terrorism and International Compliance: The Kachin Armed Struggle for Political Self-Determination by Seng Maw Lahpai 14. Engendering Development in Myanmar/Burma: Women's Struggle for San, Si, Sar (rice, oil and salt) by Ma Khin Mar Mar Kyi 15. Conclusion
