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

Authoritarian practices are not only used in non-democratic regimes. They can increasingly be found also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show. Learn more about the GIGA‘s research and knowledge transfer on the topic.

To overcome war and violent conflicts, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes power-sharing governments, security sector reform and other processes. We investigate these and pay equal attention to institutions and processes that may obstruct peace.

The GIGA Institute for Asian Studies analyses 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, division of power, and rule of law. In practice, democratic institutions often underperform due to executives overstepping powers, conflicts and power struggles causing stalemate in the policy process, and rule instability.

Authoritarian practices are not only used in non-democratic regimes. They can increasingly be found also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show. Learn more about the GIGA‘s research and knowledge transfer on the topic.

To overcome war and violent conflicts, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes power-sharing governments, security sector reform and other processes. We investigate these and pay equal attention to institutions and processes that may obstruct peace.

The GIGA Institute for Asian Studies analyses 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.