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Political Transition in M yanmar: Prospects and Problems
Author(s) -
Kingsbury Damien
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1943-0787
pISSN - 1943-0779
DOI - 10.1111/aspp.12115
Subject(s) - democratization , liberalization , politics , state (computer science) , political science , political economy , government (linguistics) , transition (genetics) , economics , power (physics) , economic system , development economics , democracy , market economy , law , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , algorithm , computer science , gene , physics , quantum mechanics
Since 2011, M yanmar has been undergoing a political transition that, in keeping with the M yanmar government's own claims, has been hailed by many previously critical countries as the start of a process of democratization. M yanmar has become a substantially more liberal country, and in particular its economy has been increasingly liberalized, away from the tight restrictions of the past. However, M yanmar's economic liberalization primarily benefits its entrenched and usually military‐dominated or linked elites, while its political liberalization may be just enough to satisfy an appearance of democratization without the army giving up real power. This article looks at M yanmar's process of political liberalization set against some of the literature on political transitions, and highlights some factors that could militate against extensive reform, much less democratization. It concludes by noting that while M yanmar's military has started to step back from direct political control, it still retains ultimate state authority.