Armed resistance dynamics after the military coup in Myanmar

Friday 12 May 2023, 10.00-13.00
DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies
Auditorium
Gl. Kalkbrænderi Vej 51A, 2100 Copenhagen

On the 1st of February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup and overturned the civilian government under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since the coup the military has been met by a strong popular resistance across the country. Little suggests that the military has control over the developments and its violent responses to the resistance has resulted in an increasingly better armed and organized opposition to the military.

This seminar will bring together international Myanmar experts to provide critical insights into the dynamics of the armed resistance after the military coup and drawing in a historical perspective.

Senior Analyst from DIIS, John Nielsen, will inaugurate the seminar with a brief status on the situation in Myanmar followed by a keynote speech from Research Fellow at Tallinn University, John Buchanan on “Myanmar’s ongoing Civil Wars” with a special focus on Shan State. Buchanan will look at the inability of security sector reforms to address community security needs. He will look at a series of security sector reforms, some involving the transformation of armed resistance groups into Tatmadaw-allied militias and consider why they have led to the eruption of militarized violence rather than their resolution.

The keynote speech will be followed by two presentations. Min Aung Man from Chiang Mai University will provide a historical overview of sub-state representative bodies representing e.g. the Karenni, Mon, Kachin, Ta’ang and Pa’o, their establishment, current challenges, future plans, and political goals. He will also reflect on how some of them aim to politically represent the people in their respective regions during the interim period and some even attempt to assume government roles within their sub-states. They also strive to unite different actors, including Ethnic Armed Organizations, Political Parties, and Civil Society, through their state representative bodies.

Gerard McCarthy, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Social Studies in the Hague and Kyle Nyana Independent Scholar in their presentation will examine the erosion of SAC governance in urban areas and review the diverse social governance functions being fulfilled by non-state social actors in rural areas now under resistance or mixed control: Focus will be on the Bago Region, Chin State, Sagaing and Yangon Region.

SPEAKERS
– John Buchanan, Research Fellow, Tallinn University
– Min Aung Man, The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, at Chiang Mai University
– Gerard McCarthy, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Social Studies in the Hague and Kyle Nyana, Independent Scholar
– Helene Maria Kyed, Senior Researcher, DIIS
– John Nielsen, Senior Analyst, DIIS

PROGRAMME
10.00-10.15 Welcome and introduction, Helene Maria Kyed

10.15-10.30 Brief update on the present situation in Myanmar, John Nielsen

10.30-11.00 Keynote speech – Security Reintegration without Demilitarization:Militias, Gas Stations, Community Security, and Myanmar´s ongoing Civil Wars, John Buchanan

11.00-11.20 Q&A, chaired by Helene Maria Kyed

11.40-12.00 Coffee and tea break

12.00-12.20 The background, challenges, and hopes for sub-state representative bodies after the 2021 coup in Myanmar, Min Aung Man

12.20-12.40 Governing revolution: Post Coup local social order in resistance-controlled and urban areas of Myanmar, Gerard McCarthy

12.40-12.55 Q&A, chaired by John Nielsen

12.55-13.00 Wrap up, Helene Maria Kyed

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The seminar will be held in English. Physical participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our registration form https://www.diis.dk/en/node/26333