Burma Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know

CONTENTS......Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 14
MAPS......Page 16
PRELIMINARY NOTES......Page 20
INTRODUCTION......Page 30
Why are we interested in Burma/Myanmar?......Page 36
Why should we be interested in Burma/Myanmar?......Page 38
What can we learn from Burma/Myanmar?......Page 41
Why is learning about Burma/Myanmar so difficult?......Page 43
What are the crises facing Burma/Myanmar?......Page 45
How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events?......Page 50
How did Burmese kings view governance and authority, and is this relevant today?......Page 53
What were Burma’s relations with internal peoples, regions, and neighboring states?......Page 55
What was the role of Buddhism in traditional Burma?......Page 58
What led to the three Anglo-Burman Wars of the nineteenth century?......Page 61
What was the role of India in colonial Burma, what are its residual influences, and why are they important?......Page 63
What economic development programs did the British introduce?......Page 66
What was the role of Buddhism during this period and what social changes affected the society?......Page 67
How did Burmese nationalism develop and what have been its effects?......Page 69
What was the impact of World War II on Burma, and what effect did the Japanese conquest have on Burma and its future?......Page 71
How did the Burma army develop in the colonial period and under the Japanese?......Page 72
How do the Burmese today consider the colonial era?......Page 73
How did independence come about?......Page 75
What was the role of Aung San?......Page 77
How did Burma deal with the political and ethnic rebellions?......Page 78
Why didn’t Burma join the Commonwealth?......Page 79
How did the Chinese nationalist incursion affect Burma?......Page 80
What were relations with the United States?......Page 82
What were relations with China?......Page 83
Was Burma communist or socialist, and what were the ideological influences on the society?......Page 85
What were the government’s plans for economic development?......Page 86
What were the effects of the 1947 civilian constitution?......Page 87
How did the AFPFL operate and govern?......Page 88
What caused the military “Caretaker” Government, how did it function, and what was its legacy?......Page 89
How did the minorities fare under the civilian government?......Page 91
How did the 1960 elections affect Burma?......Page 93
What caused the coup of 1962?......Page 94
How may we evaluate the civilian, democratic period?......Page 95
What were the effects of the coup?......Page 97
What was the “Burmese Way to Socialism”?......Page 99
How did the BSPP operate?......Page 100
What was the impact of the socialist policies?......Page 101
How were foreign relations under the BSPP?......Page 102
How did the 1974 constitution come about and what was its impact?......Page 103
How did the indigenous minorities fare under the 1974 unitary state?......Page 105
How were monks registered?......Page 106
How was citizenship defined?......Page 107
What was the role of General/President/Chairman Ne Win?......Page 108
What happened to the economy in the 1980s?......Page 110
What were the causes of the 1988 People’s Revolution and the coup that followed?......Page 112
6 The SLORC/SPDC Era (1988–Present): Continuation of Military Power......Page 116
What was the SLORC and how did it change into the SPDC?......Page 117
Who were the leaders of the military in this period, and how were they trained?......Page 118
What political and economic policies were instituted shortly after the coup?......Page 120
How did the political opposition develop and what was the National League for Democracy?......Page 122
What was the role of Aung San Suu Kyi and what has happened to her?......Page 123
What were the May 1990 elections about and what were the internal and external results?......Page 125
What were the SLORC/SPDC’s international relations, and how did Asian and Western nations react to the coup and the regime?......Page 128
What is the state of social services in Myanmar?......Page 130
What is the status of the private sector in Myanmar?......Page 133
What is the status and role of the military in Myanmar?......Page 136
How does the narcotics trade affect the society and international relations?......Page 138
What are the roles and influence of minority religions (Islam, Christianity) in Myanmar?......Page 145
What is and has been the status of women in Burma/Myanmar?......Page 148
What is the status of the cease-fires with minority insurrections in Myanmar?......Page 149
What are relations with the United States?......Page 153
What are relations with China and what is the status of the Chinese in Myanmar?......Page 159
What is India’s policy toward Myanmar and how did it change?......Page 161
What was Japan’s relationship with Burma/Myanmar?......Page 163
What has been the role of civil society and quasi-governmental groups?......Page 165
What is the status of human rights in Myanmar?......Page 167
Why was General/Prime Minister Khin Nyunt removed from power, and what did this mean?......Page 169
Why was the capital moved from Rangoon to Naypyidaw?......Page 171
What is the role of Buddhism in Myanmar today and what is its relation to political legitimacy?......Page 174
What happened in the Saffron Revolution of 2007?......Page 176
What were the internal and external effects of Cyclone Nargis in 2008?......Page 178
What happened in the referendum on the constitution in 2008 and what are its provisions?......Page 181
7 The Nature of Burmese Politics......Page 187
How do politics in Burma/Myanmar function, and what are its implications?......Page 188
8 Issues in Myanmar’s Future......Page 197
What are the current and future strategic interests of foreign powers in Myanmar?......Page 198
What is the future of the military in Myanmar under any new government?......Page 201
How will the minorities deal with the new government?......Page 203
What types of economic crises does the country face?......Page 204
What are the social crises facing the state?......Page 208
What are the needs of the state in a transition to a new government?......Page 209
What role is there for multilateral and bilateral donors?......Page 210
Is democracy a reasonable expectation for Myanmar in the near term? In the future?......Page 211
What role can the major powers play in Myanmar?......Page 213
What might be the roles of ASEAN, the UN, and the EU?......Page 214
What might the role of the Burmese diaspora be in a new government?......Page 217
CODA......Page 219
POSTSCRIPT......Page 226
SUGGESTED READING......Page 229
A......Page 234
B......Page 235
C......Page 237
D......Page 239
E......Page 240
F......Page 241
H......Page 242
I......Page 243
L......Page 244
M......Page 245
N......Page 247
P......Page 249
R......Page 250
S......Page 251
T......Page 253
U......Page 254
Z......Page 255
ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 256
PHOTOS......Page 140