Myanmar Relations Research Articles

The United States’ Myanmar policy after the 2021 military coup and its prospects under China–US strategic competition

This article examines recent foreign policy of the United States (US) toward Myanmar in the aftermath of the military coup led by Min Aung Hlaing on February 1, 2021. In response to the coup, President Joe Biden imposed targeted sanctions on the responsible military leaders. Against the backdrop of rising tensions between the US and China, this article explores the future of US–Myanmar relations and a possible return to the previously strained relationship from 1994 to 2008. To investigate the motives behind the coup by the Tatmadaw and the responses of the US executive and legislative branches, this article utilizes a combination of document research and semi-structured interviews with retired diplomats, scholars, observers, and activists. The analysis concludes that the US will likely continue its targeted sanctions policy while maintaining diplomatic relations with Naypyidaw in order to maintain influence in Myanmar during the US–China strategic competition. The article also highlights the potential for a future deterioration of US–Myanmar relations.

USA–Myanmar relations: democratization and beyond

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the USA's policy toward Myanmar or Burma, analyzing the bilateral relationship between the two countries from the pre-colonial period to the present day. It highlights the implications of political shifts in the system of government in Myanmar for the bilateral relationship with the USA, particularly after the 1962 coup and the emergence of rising regional powers like China. The paper also shows how the economic role of Myanmar has increased, leading to more equal relations with the United States of America.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs a qualitative research design, analyzing data from both primary and secondary sources. The methodology includes a literature review and document analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the USA–Myanmar bilateral relationship. The research also analyzes political and economic developments in Myanmar and the region, placing the USA policy in a broader context.FindingsThe research finds that the USA has been an influential player in Myanmar's politics and economy. However, with Myanmar's integration into the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and its accession to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), its economic role has become more significant, leading to a more balanced relationship with the USA. The paper also shows that the USA's policy toward Myanmar has undergone significant changes, particularly after the 2011 easing of sanctions by former President Barack Obama.Originality/valueAlthough many works have traced the history of USA–Myanmar ties, this study provides a fresh perspective by setting past events against the backdrop of contemporary geopolitical upheavals, therefore highlighting the complex evolution of their bilateral dynamics. The paper contributes to the literature on the USA–Myanmar bilateral relationship by providing a comprehensive analysis of the relationship from a historical perspective. The research also adds to the discussion of the implications of political and economic developments in Myanmar for the bilateral relationship with the USA. The findings of this study have important implications for policymakers and scholars interested in the USA's role in Southeast Asia and its relations with rising regional powers like China.

Failure of Myanmar's Democratic Transition

Myanmar is one of the countries that carried out military coups several times from 1962 to 2021. Although known as an authoritative ruler, the military junta has carried out more democratic policies, such as opening space for press freedom and holding Myanmar‘s election which allowed the participation of a pro-democratic party namely the NLD Party. However, the military junta suddenly staged a military coup in 2021. In previous years, Myanmar's military junta attempted to make a democratic transition. This raises the question of what factors caused the democratic transition in Myanmar to fail, despite previous positive results. The phenomenon of democratic transition in Myanmar will be analyzed using democratic transition theory, democratization theory, and the concept of civil-military relations. This study uses an approach-explanation approach to determine the failure factors of the democratic transition in Myanmar. Based on the theories, concepts, and research methods used, the failure of the democratic transition in Myanmar occurred due to four factors: The first factor is the democratic transition in Myanmar using the top-down path. The second factor is that the transition is not followed by the installation of democracy. The third factor is that the civil-military relations in Myanmar are included in the category of unbalanced civilian accommodation. The fourth factor, the military afraid of Aung San Suu Kyi succeeded in amending the 2008 constitution which will remove military privileges.

Major powers make the call? Review of 70 years engagement of major powers with Myanmar

AbstractIt is commonly assumed that smaller powers are prone to getting trapped and lost in the game of contrasting powers; however, the story of six major powers and their relations with Myanmar over the past 70 years has shown that the smaller party does not always take a passive, victimised position in these relations but can achieve an active, relatively independent position. Myanmar accomplished this position by shielding itself from sanctions from the United States, UK, and Japan using China's assistance; implementing selective trade and investment; and diversifying its weapon suppliers, including Russia and other players in the arms market. In this paper, the data on 70 years of arms transfer are analysed to exemplify the defence policy of Myanmar towards major powers, the bilateral trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) data are used for economic policy, and the three indicators provide a simplified but concise picture of Myanmar's long‐term relations with world major powers. Myanmar is a relatively small power in the global landscape of larger powers, but it has maintained its independence in policy making and has made full use of the competition for power among major powers for its own benefit. Thus, it is not the big fish but the small one that has helped shape Myanmar's relations with major powers.

Myanmar's strategy in the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor: a failure in hedging?

Abstract This article examines Myanmar's hedging strategies in China's Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a key component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Myanmar has avoided being overly reliant on China by strategically hedging and diversifying its foreign relations with other countries in the region. However, Myanmar's ability to hedge is compromised by its domestic fragmentation, caused by the protracted civil war and rising civil–military tensions. We focus on the two advanced projects in CMEC, the Muse–Mandalay railway and Kyaukphyu deep seaport, and have conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with key actors involved in China–Myanmar relations (2016–2021) under the National League for Democracy (NLD). Through the fieldwork findings, we problematize the assumption in the hedging literature which takes for granted a country's competence to act strategically in their foreign policy. Our findings from the Myanmar case suggest that the state's level of fragmentation and capability to hedge are inversely proportional. The multiple actors in Myanmar's political space complicate its China policy and limit its ability to hedge effectively. This is augmented by the military coup in February 2021, which further fragmented the country, compromising Myanmar's China policy even further, making hedging a less viable framework to examine Myanmar's China strategy.

India - Myanmar Relations (1948 - 1992): From “Idealism” to “Realism” in India’s Foreign Policy towards Myanmar

India and Myanmar are two neighboring countries that share the border of nearly 1.500km and have the relationship on history, politics, culture, ethnic... from over 2.000 years to present. India officially established diplomatic relations with Myanmar, just after this Southeast Asian country gained independence (1948). From 1948 to 1992, the bilateral relationship was influenced by India’s foreign policy towards Myanmar, especially the impact of “idealism” and “realism” in India’s policy. “Idealism” succeeded in India’s foreign policy towards Myanmar from 1948 to 1962; however, it was not effective in the period 1962 - 1988, which made India’s position severely decrease, contrary to the rise of China’s position in Myanmar. For this reason, India must innovate the foreign thought, moving from “idealism” to “realism”, which have more pragmatic quality to Myanmar in the years 1988 - 1992 when the international and regional contexts have many changes. On the basis of the reference sources, this research’s aim focuses on analyzing the foreign policy adjustment of India, especially this study will focus on the issue of India - Myanmar relationship (1948 - 1992) was dominated by the “idealism” and “realism” in the planning of foreign policy of India towards Myanmar. The scope of this research is the relationship between India and Myanmar from 1948 to 1992 under the influence of “idealism” and “realism” in India’s foreign policy. From the early 90s of the 20th century, India’s foreign policy towards Myanmar has been more realistic than in the previous period, especially since 1992, when India implemented its new foreign policy, the Look East Policy.
 
 Received: 4 February 2021 / Accepted: 9 April 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

Taiwan–Myanmar Relations within the Framework of the New Southbound Policy

Abstract This article combines the study of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy with a case study of Taiwan–Myanmar relations from a perspective of political relations, economic cooperation, and Taiwan’s (un)recognisability in Myanmar—i.e. Taiwan’s soft power in Myanmar. The first part of the paper introduces the policy and compares it with the previous ones, and sheds light on Taiwan’s motivation to engage with Myanmar. It considers the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, due to which investment relocation from China is expected to sharply increase. The second part of the paper provides an insight into the relationship between Taiwan and Myanmar after Myanmar’s state-led political transformation from military rule and economic liberalisation since approximately 2010. It explains the main aspects and determinants of the relationship between two countries that share a neighbouring potential hegemon which they both wish to balance against.

Chinese Factors in India Relationship with Myanmar in the Period 1992 – 2014

India and Myanmar are two neighboring countries have a traditional, close and longstanding relationship. Through many vicissitudes and fluctuations of history, bilateral relations have been retained and developed since the Cold War to the present. In relations with Myanmar, India cannot ignore the Chinese factor. China is a “rising” power in Asia and a neighbor to both India and Myanmar. With the third largest area and largest population in the world, China has a very important influence on the diplomatic relations of the countries, including the relations between India and Myanmar. Considered as a strategic competitor of India in the 21st century, China has a great influence on the country in improving and developing relations with neighboring countries, including Myanmar. On the basis of the reference sources, this research’s aim is to analyze China’ role in India - Myanmar relations process in the years 1992 - 2014, thereby helping readers to recognize the great impact of the Chinese factor on the development of the relationship mentioned above. The scope of this research is the Chinese factor for India - Myanmar relations in the period when India implemented the “Look East” policy (1992 - 2014). The research shows that the factor’s impact on India - Myanmar relations in the aforementioned period is regular and takes place in many fields, with the focus on political - diplomacy, economic and security - defense. With the strategic importance of neighboring Myanmar, India cannot “forget” its Chinese strategic competitor in relations with Myanmar as well as other neighboring countries in the 21st century.
 
 Received: 7 November 2020 / Accepted: 21 December 2020 / Published: 17 January 2020

The Impacts of the Adjustment of India’s Foreign Policy for India — Myanmar Relations (1992–2014)

India and Myanmar are two neighboring countries that share a border of nearly 1500 kilometers and have a relationship based on history, politics, culture, and ethnicity from over 2000 years to the present. India officially established diplomatic relations with Myanmar after the Southeast Asian country gained independence in 1948. Since 1992, the implementation of India’s Look East Policy in addition to the strategic importance of Myanmar as a neighbor created a catalyst for new development in relations between the two countries. India — Myanmar relations have shifted from a cold and strained status (1962–1991) to improvement, consolidation and development in the years 1992–2014. Furthermore, the relationship between the two countries was developed on the basis of inheriting the achievements of the previous period (1948–1991) that were not only in the political sphere. There was a complete development in many aspects (politics — diplomacy, economy, security — defense, etc.) for two decades after the end of the Cold War. This article focuses on analyzing the adjustment of India’s foreign policy, especially the implementation of the Look East Policy and the “Act East” strategy, and the impact of this adjustment for the development of India — Myanmar relations during 1992–2014.

A strategic assessment of Indian Myanmar relations

A strategic assessment of Indian Myanmar relations

From Pariah Image to Partner and Back Again: The EU’s Complicated Relationship with Myanmar

To make sense of the EU’s rocky relationship with Myanmar, we need to consider how Myanmar’s political leadership is imagined in Europe. For decades, this image was bifurcated: on the one hand a military junta with its disdain for democracy and human rights. On the other hand, Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), ‘our’ saint-like Burmese ‘Nelson Mandela’, detained but still fighting for democracy and human rights. As a result, Brussels implemented a tough sanction regime and essentially assigned Myanmar pariah status. When Suu Kyi re-joined the formal political process in 2012 and won the 2015 elections, Myanmar rapidly transitioned from pariah to partner. Fast forward to 2017 and relations between the EU and Myanmar had soured again because of the Rohingya crisis and Suu Kyi’s ‘deafening silence’ on the issue. The article argues that to understand this rollercoaster ride of EU–Myanmar relations one must turn to the imagery of Suu Kyi in Europe. The strong cognitive dissonances, created by the widening gap between the imagined ‘saint’ ASSK and the realpolitik ‘sinner’, have impacted on the EU’s relations with Myanmar and can help us make sense of the recent turbulences in the relationship.

Breaking with the past? The politics of land restitution and the limits to restitutive justice in Myanmar

Land reforms, which include restitution and redistribution of land, often accompany political transitions, as new regimes attempt to break with the past by establishing new modes of governance. The political transition that began in Myanmar in 2011 provides one such example. In Myanmar’s ‘rice bowl’, the Ayeyarwady Delta, widespread land confiscations during the 1990s and 2000s facilitated the establishment of large fish farms, often at the expense of smallholder cultivators who worked agricultural lands without formal use rights. Reforms initiated in 2011 appeared to offer the prospect of restitutive land justice for rural households affected by land confiscation, but this promise has been slow to materialize. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in the Delta, this paper analyzes the narratives and strategies deployed by different groups of state and societal actors advocating for and against land restitution, focusing on the competing uses of two concepts: legality and legitimacy. In doing so, we explore how state-society relations in Myanmar have been reworked through these processes of contestation, and examine possibilities for, and limits to, progressive land reform during political transition.

Myanmar’s military and the garrison state: State-military relations in Myanmar and their influence in the [re]production of violence against minorities

The article examines the relationship between the state and military in Myanmar to understand the country’s policies regarding persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in the context of the Rohingya population of Arakan. The article applies the idea of the garrison state, a concept originally developed by Harold J Lasswell. It applies a process-tracing approach to understand the relations between the state and military of Myanmar, by examining primary documents and secondary literature on the subject. The article argues that Myanmar is a state which is compulsively concerned about perceived threats to its sovereignty. This real or imagined anxiety translates into cultural, social and economic attributes, and its policies to [re]produce violence against the Rohingya minorities of Arakan. These features endorse the idea that militarism is habitually developed by a garrison state, such as Myanmar, which is reflected in the policies of citizenship and the construction of minorities. Therefore, violence becomes a continuous tool that is applied by the state, particularly against the peripheral minorities and other marginalised groups.

The Expansion of Chinese Business in Myanmar and Sino-Myanmar Relations (1988-1990)

This article deals with the evolution of Sino-Myanmar relations in the late 1980s as a result of the Chinese economic expansion. The “8888 Uprising” of August 1988 was suppressed be the military who retook power in the country. Condemning the repressions of the military government, Western countries and Japan sharply reduced aid to Burma. India closed borders and set up refugee camps along its border with Burma. This situation led to the almost complete isolation of Burma in the international community. China appeared as the only strategic ally of the country in the region. According to the official statistics, Chinese businesses were significantly expanded in Myanmar in 1988-1990. However, despite the remarkable improvement in trade dialogue, problems such as migrants and unbalanced trade emerged, creating fissures in Sino-Myanmar ties. The article examines various cases which caused a negative attitude of the people of Myanmar towards the Chinese and even led to the emergence of a term such as Sinophobia .

The new development of India - Myanmar relations during two decades after the Cold War: The bases and achievements

India and Myanmar are two mutual neighboring countries which have the traditional, longstanding and close relations. Over many periods of ups and downs in history, the links of politics, culture, religion, society... between India and Myanmar are the basis of this relations in the modern. After formally establishing the diplomatic relations in 1948, the relationship between two countries entered the period of peace, cooperation and development. From 1962 to 1991, the relations between two countries have become cold and declining. After the end of the Cold War, the trend of dialogue, peace and cooperation along with the development needs of India and Myanmar created new catalysts for the development of this relations. India - Myanmar relations have shifted from a cold and trained status (1962 - 1991) to improvement, consolidation and development in the years 1992 - 2014. In addition, the relationship between two countries was developed on the basis of inheriting the achievements of the previous period (1948 - 1991) but instead of being mainly in the political field, there was a complete development in many aspects (politics - diplomacy, economy, security - defense...) for two decades after the end of the Cold War. By the historical method and logical method are mainly, this article focuses on analyzing the bases which promote India - Myanmar relations's development in the years after the Cold War and this relationship's major achievements in politics - diplomacy, economy, security - defense. On that basis, the article's author drew conclusions about the development of India - Myanmar relations in the research period.

Race relations, nationalism and the humanitarian Rohingya crisis in contemporary Myanmar

ABSTRACTThe recent ethnic tensions in Myanmar especially in the Rakhine state has once again placed the country onto the centre stage of global media attention. The aim of this paper is to look at race relations in contemporary Myanmar with a special focus on the Rohingya community. The paper argues that problematic race relations in the country today should be analysed within a certain historical context and should be seen as part of a historical continuum. This paper places a lot of importance on this historical continuum. In this connection, the British colonial policies of divide and conquer, politicians and their obsession with Buddhism and trying to make it the state religion shortly after independence in 1948, and the xenophobic policies followed by the military junta after 1962 deserve special mention. The paper further argues that the current state of affairs and escalation in violence has happened recently because of the convergence of the activities and ideologies of certain political groups like the military junta, the National League for Democracy, the Arakan League for Democracy, and the role played by certain Buddhist extremist groups like the MaBaTha in Burmese politics. To ease the existing tension in the Rakhine, the central government would need to take a more federally minded approach and introduce meaningful democracy and development in the frontier parts of the country where there is a strong ethnic minority presence.

THE POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN INDIA AND MYANMAR (1992 - 2014) - A VIEW FROM THE IMPACTS OF “LOOK EAST” POLICY

India’s Look East Policy is the policy toward the Southeast Asia region, where is abundant in natural resources and plays a role in support for India in the Asia - Pacific region strategy. The foreign policy of India can gets results on the economics, politics, society for this country. Besides, this success brought useful experiences for ASEAN countries in general and Myanmar in particular when they enforce the new foreign policy. Myanmar is considered a “bridge” between India and Southeast Asia. With its strategic location, this country has an important role in India’s Look East Policy. In this article, the author focused on India - Myanmar relations about politics and diplomacy from 1992 to 2014 under the positive impact of the “Look East” Policy in the research phase and we took out some comments about India - Myanmar relations during the research period.

The Change of Employment Relations in Myanmar's Garment Companies: A Case of Korean Investment Companies in a Period of U Thein Sein Government

The Change of Employment Relations in Myanmar's Garment Companies: A Case of Korean Investment Companies in a Period of U Thein Sein Government

ミャンマーにおける国家・サンガ関係(近代国家におけるサンガ・僧侶,パネル, 第七十回学術大会紀要)

ミャンマーにおける国家・サンガ関係(近代国家におけるサンガ・僧侶,パネル, 第七十回学術大会紀要)

Emerging Pattern of Civil–Military Relations in Myanmar

Emerging Pattern of Civil–Military Relations in Myanmar