A pointless reduction in the jail sentences for Myanmar’s democratically elected leaders is unlikely to quell the fires of opposition now burning across the country.
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Articles on Myanmar elections
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Myanmar’s military junta is losing some control over the country, but its execution of four high-profile leaders and prisoners sends a warning to Myanmar citizens and the rest of the world.
Despite having a woman leader, women are largely excluded from key positions of influence and leadership in Myanmar — a situation that helped the country’s military succeed in its recent coup.
After arresting Aung San Suu Kyi once again, the army is clearly not ready to relinquish control.
It is difficult to see how the military will benefit from another coup, since it already enjoyed immense political and economic influence under the previous power-sharing agreement.
The constitutional change needed to further democratise Myanmar is impossible without the military’s consent, so achieving major political transformation through the election alone seems unlikely.
In a country with 135 ethnic minorities, democratic elections have little meaning if the stateless, persecuted Rohingya people continue to be ethnically cleansed.
For better or for worse, various countries around the world charted a new course last year. What lies ahead for 2016?
We recently undertook extensive fieldwork in Myanmar to find out what could help resolve the underlying issues that drive the conflict between the Muslim Rohingya and the majority Buddhist Rakhine.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD has won Myanmar’s elections in a landslide, but must lead the transition to democratic rule carrying the hopes of tens of millions of voters who expect life to be transformed.
With the opposition party on course to win a historic election, it’s time to get serious on some difficult questions.
Myanmar is holding elections, but like the many other authoritarian regimes that do so, it isn’t for democratic reasons and regime change remains highly unlikely.
Top contributors
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Co-Deputy Director, Human Rights Centre and Co-Director of Postgraduate Studies, School of Law, University of Essex
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Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow, Loughborough University London, Loughborough University
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Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Tasmania
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Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia
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Associate Professor in International & Community Development, Deakin University
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Lecturer, Royal Holloway University of London
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Professor of Management and Organization, University of Southern California
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Associate Professor (Politics), University of Nottingham
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Senior Lecturer in International Development, University of Bath
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Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, University of Surrey
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Associate Professor in International Relations, University of Nottingham
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Lecturer in Spanish and European Studies, University of Bath
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Associate Professor, Durham University
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PhD Student, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen
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Lecturer in Politics, University of Birmingham
