Myanmar Archives - Page 3 of 7

Significance of the November 2015 Myanmar Elections

Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide majority in the openly contested elections Myanmar held on Sunday, November 8, 2015.The NLD won a convincing majority with 255 seats in the lower house, 135 in the upper house and 496 seats in the state and regional legislatures. This paves the way for election of President of its choice and forming a government. The election had 33.5 million eligible voters (over 18 years) of Myanmar’s 52 million population.

Is the Ceasefire Agreement in Myanmar a Step Towards Political Accommodation?

It may be an over-optimistic assessment to expect the present Thein Sein regime to achieve a substantive and comprehensive political accord in the run-up to the elections.

Gautam Sen
April 06, 2015
IDSA Comments

China at your doorstep: Looking east from India’s northeast

Myanmar and India have followed separate political paths only to find it converging in recent times. Myanmar’s other neighbour China has had a much larger footprint in the country. India has to calibrate its engagement with Myanmar to not just effectively implement its Look East policy but also manage the contiguous border regions of Northeast India given the ground realities.

Namrata Goswami
March 18, 2014
Issue Brief

Stability and Growth in South Asia

Publisher: Pentagon Press

This book examines the forces and processes which have led to relative political stability or unleashed trends in that direction in some countries of South Asia. It also delves into the factors that have stimulated economic growth in some countries, and impeded economic growth in others. Eminent authors from the region examine how far the positive political and economic trends in the region are irreversible or lend themselves to internal convulsions or external influences. There is also a focus on how far inter-state relations within the region have led to stronger intra-regional co-operation, particularly in the economic field.

ISBN 978-81-8274-748-7,
Price: ₹ 995/-
E-copy available

The Changing Politics and Geopolitics of Burma

Burma’s two decades-old alignment with China, which was always an uneasy one, is being reordered to better reflect Burmese national interests. In an attempt to reach out to the West, partial democratisation has been permitted. The military remains highly influential in Burmese politics, but its desire to avoid the pitfalls of over-dependence on Beijing, together with confidence that separatist movements pose a lesser threat than in the past, have led to a loosening of political control.

Assessing the Bodh Gaya Terror Attack

With increased cross-border mobility, instantaneous access to information and easy reach to small arms, terror attacks in India are finding new targets.

Myanmar Opens to Business Opportunities, but is it sustainable?

After years of political and economic isolation, Myanmar is opening up to investment particularly in the energy sector. There are however, accompanying uncertainties and risks.

Ethnic Tension and Political Drift in Myanmar

The impact of discord and disharmony within the country has started manifesting itself in the economic sphere. Despite the US and EU relaxing their sanctions, development problems have started showing up.

Gautam Sen
May 27, 2013
IDSA Comments

More Ethnic Riots in Myanmar: Disturbances in Meikhtila

Unless the leaders of varying political hue and institutional oligarchs, including the military and, above all, Su Kyi, show political wisdom, incidents such as those in Meikhtila, Yamethin, and state military action against the Karens and Kachins will continue to recur.

Gautam Sen
March 28, 2013
IDSA Comments

Myanmar’s Transition: A Comment

Myanmar's reforms have generated much debate among scholars, both inside and outside the country. One of the key questions asked is: do the changes in Myanmar signify a real transition? There are good reasons to doubt the genuineness of the transition because the change was initiated by a military regime that had ruled the country for decades. The military has ensured its role in the transition by guaranteeing seats to the military in parliament and many of the ‘civilian’ leaders in the new government were until recently military officers. I agree with Dr.