Myanmar: Politics, Economy and Society PDF
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MYANMAR This book 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. 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-m ilitary relations. The chapters analyse the key issues that constrain or expe- dite societal development in Myanmar and place recent events of national and inter- national significance in the context of its complex history and social relations. In doing so, the book demonstrates that ethnic and cultural diversity is at the core of Myanmar’s society and heavily influences all aspects of life in the country. 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 govern- ments, companies and other organisations. Adam Simpson is Program Director of the Master of Communication in UniSA Justice & Society, at the University of South Australia. He is the co- editor, along with Nicholas Farrelly and Ian Holliday, of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Myanmar (2018) and author of Energy, Governance and Security in Thailand and Myanmar (2014, 2017). Nicholas Farrelly is Professor and Head of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He was previously Associate Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. MYANMAR Politics, Economy and Society Edited by Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly to be identified as the authors of the editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data Names: Simpson, Adam (Adam John), editor. | Farrelly, Nicholas, 1982– editor. Title: Myanmar: politics, economy and society/edited by Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly. Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020020166 | ISBN 9780367110352 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367110444 (paperback) | ISBN 9780429024443 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Burma–Politics and government–1988- | Burma–Politics and government–1962–1988. | Burma–Economic conditions–1988- | Burma–Social conditions–1988– Classification: LCC DS530.65 .M935 2021 | DDC 959.105-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020166 ISBN: 978-0-367-11035-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-11044-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-02444-3 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear For Lisa and Kyela CONTENTS Notes on contributors x 1 Interrogating contemporary Myanmar: the difficult transition 1 Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly PART I Politics 13 2 Elections and political reform: new hopes, old fears 15 Nicholas Farrelly 3 The military: institution and politics 28 Maung Aung Myoe 4 Law, lawyers and legal institutions 44 Mish Khan and Nick Cheesman 5 Ethnic politics: diversity and agency amid persistent violence 59 Matthew J Walton 6 Democracy and human rights: in the shadow of Myanmar’s national security state 74 Morten B Pedersen viii Contents 7 Foreign policy and international engagement: strategic realities, domestic priorities 87 Renaud Egreteau PART II Economy 103 8 Political regimes and economic policy: isolation, consolidation, reintegration 105 Michele Ford, Michael Gillan and Htwe- Htwe Thein 9 Industrial policy and special economic zones: engaging transformation in a globalised world 120 Giuseppe Gabusi and Michele Boario 10 Agriculture and the rural economy: the struggle to transform rural livelihoods 136 Duncan Boughton, Ikuko Okamoto, SiuSue Mark, Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, Theingi Myint and Tin Htut Oo 11 Natural resources: wealth and conflict 149 Adam Simpson PART III Society 169 12 Art and heritage: creating and preserving cultural histories 171 Charlotte Galloway 13 Women’s rights: change and continuity 186 Jenny Hedström, Elisabeth Olivius and Kay Soe 14 Myanmar’s contested borderlands: uneven development and ongoing armed conflict 204 Busarin Lertchavalitsakul and Patrick Meehan 15 Ethnicity, culture and religion: centralisation, Burmanisation and social transformation 219 Violet Cho and David Gilbert 16 Journalism and free speech: freedom and fear 234 Thomas Kean and Mratt Kyaw Thu Contents ix 17 The Rohingya crisis: nationalism and its discontents 249 Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly Index 265
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