MYANMAR'S ‘PIVOT’ TOWARD THE SHIBBOLETH OF ‘DEMOCRACY’

Abstract

The recent reforms in Myanmar were not brought about by Western sanctions or some contingent event, but rather planned well in advance,. For there is more continuity than change in Myanmar's political system, which is dominated by the practitioners of national power-the army and the bureaucracy. Of course there are new actors, principally Aung San Suu Kyi and the party she leads, the NLD. Yet the reality remains: state security has to be maintained. Rebalancing with ASEAN, India and now the West is helpful in terms of independence vis a vis China. This is not an invitation to the West to attempt to subvert the existing order.

Notes

1 This article essentially reproduces the content of a lecture delivered by Professor Taylor on Friday, 10 May 2013, at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace in Phnom Penh.

2 Yoshihiro Nakanishi, Strong Soldiers, Failed Revolution: The State and Military in Burma 1962–88. Kyoto, Singapore: Kyoto University Press, NUS Press, 2013.