Chapter Five - The Emergence of Intermediaries

Summary

This chapter provides an account of the sudden rise in demand for intermediaries in Myanmar after the opening up of the country to foreign aid and influence. It focuses on the competitive ‘market’ for rule of law intermediaries, showing how individuals have reinvented themselves as consultants, NGO leaders, and employees for international organisations and then how central are personality and linguistic ability when it comes to getting selected by foreign actors, as well as the important difference between often reluctant governmental intermediaries and those operating non-governmentally. The chapter also adds structure to the picture; these questions are significant because they reveal structural aspects of development aid as it operates in the rule of law sphere: for example, who gets to be included, who gets to exert influence, and why. The chapter concludes that intermediaries emerge because foreign development actors need the assistance of individuals who understand their aims and objectives, to navigate unfamiliar systems, and to reach out to potential counterparts as intermediaries of the rule of law.