The Political Economy of Myanmar’s Transition
TLDR
In this article, the authors explore the political economy of Myanmar's dual transition from state socialism to capitalism and from dictatorship to democracy, and analyze changes within Myanmar society from a critical political economy perspective in order to both situate these developments within broader regional trends and to evaluate the country's current trajectory.Abstract:
Since holding elections in 2010, Myanmar has transitioned from a direct military dictatorship to a formally democratic system and has embarked on a period of rapid economic reform. After two decades of military rule, the pace of change has startled almost everyone and led to a great deal of cautious optimism. To make sense of the transition and assess the case for optimism, this article explores the political economy of Myanmar’s dual transition from state socialism to capitalism and from dictatorship to democracy. It analyses changes within Myanmar society from a critical political economy perspective in order to both situate these developments within broader regional trends and to evaluate the country’s current trajectory. In particular, the emergence of state-mediated capitalism and politico-business complexes in Myanmar’s borderlands are emphasised. These dynamics, which have empowered a narrow oligarchy, are less likely to be undone by the reform process than to fundamentally shape the contours of re...read more
Citations
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Enacting Morality on Shifting Moral Ground: Young Plong Karen Women in Southeastern Myanmar
TL;DR: The authors examines the ways in which young Plong Karen Buddhist women enact morality in southeastern Myanmar, and focuses on how one young PLong Karen woman navigates her own moral status, and draws o...
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Bounded duty: disasters, moral citizenship and exclusion in Myanmar
TL;DR: In recent decades, Myanmar has been wracked by repeated disasters that have prompted extraordinary civilian-led relief efforts as discussed by the authors, and non-state aid and relief as a product of these disasters.
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Democratic ‘freedom’ in Myanmar
TL;DR: In this paper, the meaning of freedom is defined as "freedom from the abuses of the state and freedom for citizens to formulate and express their preferences" in a polyarchical setting.
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Class Dismissed? Explaining the Absence of Economic Injustice in the NLD’s Governing Agenda:
TL;DR: The catchcry of economic justice was the catch-cry of Burma's independence struggle and a defining issue of postcolonial party politics as discussed by the authors. Yet, despite severe economic disparities and social vulnerability, class and...
Energy Protests in Fragile Settings: The Unruly Politics of Provisions in Egypt, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, 2007–2017
Naomi Hossain,Fatai Ayinde Aremu,Andy Buschmann,Egidio Chaimite,Simbarashe Gukurume,Umair Javed,Edson da Luz,Ayobami Ojebode,Marjoke Oosterom,Olivia Marston,Alex Shankland,Mariz Tadros,Kátia Taela +12 more
References
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Book
State, Power, Socialism
TL;DR: Poulantzas as discussed by the authors argued against a general theory of the state, and identified forms of class power crucial to socialist strategy that goes beyond the apparatus of the State, and argued that class power can be found in many forms beyond the state itself.
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State Power: A Strategic-Relational Approach
TL;DR: In this paper, a preliminary definition of the state is given and a discussion of the role of gender in the development of the strategic-relational approach to state power is presented.
Book
Reorganising power in indonesia: the politics of oligarchy in an age of markets.
Richard Robison,Vedi R. Hadiz +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of our book Reorganising power in Indonesia: The Politics of Oligarchy in an Age of Markets appeared in the April 2005 edition of this journal.
BookDOI
Limited Access Orders in the Developing World : A New Approach to the Problems of Development
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a framework for developing countries to maintain their equilibrium in a fundamentally different way from the upper-income, advanced industrial countries of the world, which all have market economies with open competition, competitive multi-party democratic political systems and a secure government monopoly over violence.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ceasefire capitalism: military–private partnerships, resource concessions and military–state building in the Burma–China borderlands
TL;DR: In this article, the authors trace the relationship of military-state formation, land control and security, and primitive accumulation in the Burma-China borderlands, uncovering the forces of what they call "ceasefire capitalism".