Overturning the alms bowl: the price of survival and the consequences for political legitimacy in Burma

Abstract

The 2007 demonstrations in Burma posed the greatest threat to military rule there in almost twenty years. The involvement of thousands of monks across the country was of particular concern to the authorities as well as their threat of performing a religious boycott against them. This article traces the importance of Buddhism to the political legitimacy of rulers in Burma and examines how the authorities’ relationship with the Sangha has undergone significant changes under military rule. It compares the 2007 demonstrations with earlier protests and examines how the regime's legitimacy has suffered as a result of yet another crackdown, significantly this time against demonstrations led by the largest institution outside of the tatmadaw.

Notes

1. Although over 80% of the population are Buddhist (the figure is difficult to estimate for a number of reasons including the government's willingness to inflate the numbers in line with their promotion of a Burman Buddhist national identity), it would be misleading to classify the religion as it exists in Burma as purely of Buddhist origins since it incorporates many traditional animistic cults such as spirits and deities (nats), numerology, and astrology, all of which could be argued to offer further guidance or perhaps the opportunity to neutralise the karmic consequences generated by worldly wrongs.

2. Demonetisation was used to strike at insurgents and black marketeers operating along the Thai and Chinese borders. However, since neither group traded in Kyat because it had long been unconvertible, the demonetisation hit ordinary Burmese citizens the hardest. The 75 and 35 Kyat notes had been introduced in 1985 and 1986 respectively because they were said to be, according to Ne Win's numerological superstitions, luckier than the 100 and 50 Kyat notes, and the 75 Kyat note was also introduced on Ne Win's 75th birthday. The 75 and 35 Kyat notes were then replaced with the 90 and 45 Kyat notes in 1987 because nine was Ne Win's lucky number.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen McCarthy

Stephen McCarthy is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a Lecturer in the Department of International Business and Asian Studies at Griffith University. He earned his PhD degree in political science from Northern Illinois University. His research areas include political philosophy, comparative politics, and international relations in Southeast Asia, and more generally the Asia-Pacific region. He has written numerous articles on Burma in international journals and is the author of The Political Theory of Tyranny in Singapore and Burma(London: Routledge, 2006)