Publication

This paper argues that it is necessary to take into account a longer-term perspective to shed light on Myanmar’s “orchestrated opening” by the military-turned-civilian government. The authors seek to clarify the underlying causes of and motivations for the shift towards what the military regime has labeled “disciplined democracy”. The analysis looks at the internal dimension, namely the regime’s motivations to discard their uniforms and “civilianize”, and at the underlying drivers for the ensuing process of reform. It then explores the external dimension by examining the aspiration to balance an increasingly lopsided foreign presence in Myanmar.