Outsourcing the Polity: Non-State Welfare, Inequality, and Resistance in Myanmar

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

To overcome war and violent conflict, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes ones helping to support power-sharing in government, security sector reform, and other key processes. We investigate all these phenomena in our research, while paying equal attention to institutions and processes that may be an impediment to peace too.

The GIGA Institute for Asian Studies investigates current developments in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Australasia. Research topics include civil society–state relations, party politics, economic development, China and India in regional and global affairs, and the Indo-Pacific as a strategic space.

Two years after the 2021 military coup, Myanmar is back under closed military rule, armed conflicts between the military and ethnic armed organisations are escalating, and international isolation is again increasing. In this GIGA Talk, we will discuss the current situation with renowned experts and policymakers.

The second national elections since the end of military rule in 2010 are sparking new debates about Myanmar’s political future. Once heralded as a champion of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which came to power in 2015, has become increasingly authoritarian. We will discuss this topic with experts with ample on-site experience.

Democracy builds on common principles such as elections, a division of power, and the rule of law. In practice, democratic institutions often underperform due to executives overstepping the mark, conflicts and power struggles causing a stalemate in the policy process, as well as governance instability.

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

To overcome war and violent conflict, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes ones helping to support power-sharing in government, security sector reform, and other key processes. We investigate all these phenomena in our research, while paying equal attention to institutions and processes that may be an impediment to peace too.

The GIGA Institute for Asian Studies investigates current developments in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Australasia. Research topics include civil society–state relations, party politics, economic development, China and India in regional and global affairs, and the Indo-Pacific as a strategic space.