Assessing Burma's Ceasefire Accords

Assessing Burma's Ceasefire Accords PDF Author: Zaw Oo
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
ISBN: 9812304959
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 91

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Book Description
The Burmese military government and numerous ethnic minority armed groups have entered a series of ceasefires since 1989 in spite of the fact that most previous talks between 1949 and 1983 failed. Why did the parties enter into ceasefire accords? What is the nature of the accords? What have been the consequences? What are the future scenarios? Written by two Burmese researchers, this study investigates the underlying factors behind the ceasefires, explores the nature of the secretive agreements, and identifies the consequences affecting stakeholders in the larger context of peacebuilding, political settlement, democratization, and the state-building process. The study concludes that recent ceasefires present a significant first step in solving the sixty-year old civil war. However after more than 17 years, they have not brought about peace or political settlement. The government-initiated ceasefires carry a heavy military focus, primarily seeking to reduce military threats and gain better control over the borderlands while placing greater emphasis on state building than on peacebuilding. Nevertheless, the accords have allowed many ceasefire groups to maintain or increase their strength, develop their areas, and more importantly, ceasefires have resulted in the local ethnic population having relatively better lives. Many ethnic armed groups will continue to pursue their goals through political means, but if at least some of their objectives are not met, a resumption of violence cannot be ruled out.

Assessing Burma's Ceasefire Accords

Assessing Burma's Ceasefire Accords PDF Author: Zaw Oo
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
ISBN: 9812304959
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 91

Get Book

Book Description
The Burmese military government and numerous ethnic minority armed groups have entered a series of ceasefires since 1989 in spite of the fact that most previous talks between 1949 and 1983 failed. Why did the parties enter into ceasefire accords? What is the nature of the accords? What have been the consequences? What are the future scenarios? Written by two Burmese researchers, this study investigates the underlying factors behind the ceasefires, explores the nature of the secretive agreements, and identifies the consequences affecting stakeholders in the larger context of peacebuilding, political settlement, democratization, and the state-building process. The study concludes that recent ceasefires present a significant first step in solving the sixty-year old civil war. However after more than 17 years, they have not brought about peace or political settlement. The government-initiated ceasefires carry a heavy military focus, primarily seeking to reduce military threats and gain better control over the borderlands while placing greater emphasis on state building than on peacebuilding. Nevertheless, the accords have allowed many ceasefire groups to maintain or increase their strength, develop their areas, and more importantly, ceasefires have resulted in the local ethnic population having relatively better lives. Many ethnic armed groups will continue to pursue their goals through political means, but if at least some of their objectives are not met, a resumption of violence cannot be ruled out.

Ceasefire Agreements and Peace Processes

Ceasefire Agreements and Peace Processes PDF Author: Malin Akebo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317204123
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book analyses and compares ceasefire agreements as part of peace processes in intrastate armed conflicts. Research repeatedly underscores the importance of ceasefire agreements in peace processes but suggests that they can influence such processes in fundamentally different ways. However, despite contradictory expectations, remarkably few studies have so far been devoted to systematic and in-depth analysis of ceasefire agreements in contemporary intrastate armed conflicts. This book contributes to filling this gap by using a process-oriented conflict dynamics approach to analyse and explain how ceasefire agreements are being influenced by and in turn influences the broader dynamics of peace processes. Empirically, the book focuses on the armed conflicts in Aceh (Indonesia) and Sri Lanka. Based on document studies and 57 interviews with key actors, it presents comparative insights and in-depth knowledge about ceasefire agreements in different contextual settings. The book problematizes the common assumption in the literature that ceasefire agreements create momentum in peace processes and pave the way to peace, and it provides a more nuanced analysis and understanding based on two empirical cases analysed within a comparative framework. In contrast to conventional wisdom, it demonstrates how ceasefires on the contrary also can have negative implications on peace processes. This book will be of much interest to students of conflict resolution, peace studies, intra-state conflict, security studies and IR in general.

Winning by Process

Winning by Process PDF Author: Jacques Bertrand
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501764543
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Winning by Process asks why the peace process stalled in the decade from 2011 to 2021 despite a liberalizing regime, a national ceasefire agreement, and a multilateral peace dialogue between the state and ethnic minorities. Winning by Process argues that stalled conflicts are more than pauses or stalemates. "Winning by process," as opposed to winning by war or agreement, represents the state's ability to gain advantage by manipulating the rules of negotiation, bargaining process, and sites of power and resources. In Myanmar, five such strategies allowed the state to gain through process: locking in, sequencing, layering, outflanking, and outgunning. The Myanmar case shows how process can shift the balance of power in negotiations intended to bring an end to civil war. During the last decade, the Myanmar state and military controlled the process, neutralized ethnic minority groups, and continued to impose their vision of a centralized state even as they appeared to support federalism.

Terrorism and Insurgency in Asia

Terrorism and Insurgency in Asia PDF Author: Benjamin Schreer
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042963224X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
The rise of the Islamic State since 2014 has led to the re-emergence of terrorism as a serious security threat in Asia. Coupled with the ongoing terrorism and insurgency challenges from both radical religious extremists and also ethno-nationalist insurgencies, it is clear that some parts of Asia remain mired in armed rebellion despite decades of nation-building. While the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan has obviously deteriorated, there is also a growing terrorist challenge, on top of armed insurgencies, in other parts of Asia. A common theme in armed rebellions in the region has been the lack of legitimacy of the state and the presence of fundamental causes stemming from political, economic or social grievances. Addressing rebellion in the region thus requires a comprehensive approach involving transnational co-operation, addressing fundamental grievances, and also the use of more innovative approaches, such as religious rehabilitation and reconciliation programmes.

The Constitution of Myanmar

The Constitution of Myanmar PDF Author: Melissa Crouch
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509927379
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This timely and accessible book is the first to provide a thorough analysis of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar (Burma) in its historical, political and social context. The book identifies and articulates the principles of the Constitution through an in-depth analysis of legal and political processes and practises, particularly since the 1990s. The core argument of this book is that the 2008 Constitution is crucial to the establishment and maintenance of the military-state. The military-state promotes the leadership role of the military in governance based on a set of ideological commitments and a centralised form of organisation based on the concept of the Union. The book develops this argument by demonstrating how the process of constitution-making and the substance of the 2008 Constitution contribute to its lack of credibility and fuel demands for reform. The vision offered by the 2008 Constitution and its associated institutions has been the subject of fierce contestation, not least, for example, due to concerns over the militarisation of the state. This book is animated by debates over fundamental ideas such as the nature of democracy, the possibility of peace and federalism, the relationship between the executive and the legislature, relations between the Union government and sub-national governments, debates over judicial independence and the oversized role of the Tatmadaw (armed forces). Central to the future of the Constitution and the military-state is the role of the Tatmadaw, which will be a key determinant in any potential shift from the present highly centralised, partly-democratic Union to a federal or decentralised democratic system of governance.

Sovereignty, State Failure and Human Rights

Sovereignty, State Failure and Human Rights PDF Author: Neil A. Englehart
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315408201
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
This book argues that the effectiveness of the state apparatus is one of the crucial variables determining human rights conditions, and that state weakness and failure is responsible for much of the human rights abuses we see today. Weak states are unable to control their own agents or to police abuses by private actors, resulting in less accountability and more abuse. By contrast, stronger states have greater capacities to protect human rights; even strong authoritarian states tend to have better human rights conditions than weak ones. The first two chapters of the book develop the theoretical connections between international law, sovereignty, states and rights, and the consequences of state failure for these relationships. The empirical chapters (Chapters 3-6) test the validity of these theoretical claims, employing a multi-method approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods. Englehart uses case studies of Afghanistan, Burma/Myanmar and the Indian state of Bihar to analyze types and patterns of state failure, based on analysis of NGO reports, archival research, primary and secondary texts, and interviews and field research. Examining what happens to human rights when states fail, the book concludes with implications for scholars and activists concerned with human rights. This book will be of great use to scholars of international relations, comparative politics, human rights law and state sovereignty.

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Guerrilla warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 700

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Book Description


Living Silence in Burma

Living Silence in Burma PDF Author: Christina Fink
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
ISBN: 1848137265
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Eight years after the first edition of this insightful and highly regarded book, Burma remains one of the most troubled nations in Southeast Asia. While other countries have democratized and prospered, Burma is governed by a repressive military dictatorship and is the second largest producer of heroin in the world. In this exceptionally readable yet scholarly account of Burma today, Christina Fink gives a moving and insightful picture of what life under military rule is like. Through the extensive interviews conducted inside and outside the country, we begin to understand Burma's political and domestic situation and a comprehensive understanding of why military rule has lasted so long. This significantly revised new edition includes material taking the reader up to present day action and accounts, including the impacts of the dramatic 2007 monks' demonstrations, which were coordinated with former student activists and members of Aung San Suu Kyi's party. The book explores the regime's continued attempts to weaken and divide the democratic movement and the ethnic nationalist organizations and explains how the democratic movement and ethnic groups have sought to achieve their goals; in part, by working more closely together.

Liberalism and Democracy in Myanmar

Liberalism and Democracy in Myanmar PDF Author: Roman David
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198809603
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Historic Myanmar elections in 2015 and the installation of an NLD government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016 contrast with ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in 2017. One critical question that now confronts the 50 million people of this Southeast Asian nation is whether the push for greater democracy is strong enough to prevail over a powerful military machine and undercurrents of intolerance. What are the prospects for liberal democracy in Myanmar? This bookaddresses this question by examining historical conditions, constitutionalism, democracy, major political actors, ethnic conflict, and transitional justice. It presents a rich array of evidence focusedon 88 in-depth interviews and three waves of surveys and experiments conducted in 2014-18. The analysis culminates in the concept of limited liberalism, which reflects a blend of liberal and illiberal attitudes. The book concludes that a weakening of liberal commitments among politicians and citizens alike, allied with spreading limited liberal attitudes, casts doubt on the prospects for liberal democracy in Myanmar.

Burma Or Myanmar?

Burma Or Myanmar? PDF Author: Lowell Dittmer
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814313645
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
Burma is one of the largest and most richly endowed states in Southeast Asia. Yet it remains both economically and politically underdeveloped. Why is this so? This book argues that much of the reason has to do with an ongoing struggle for national identity. It is suitable for students and professionals interested in development studies.