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8 - The Populist Threat to Democracy in Myanmar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2020

By
Yee Mon Htun
Edited by
Gerald L. Neuman
Gerald L. Neuman
Affiliation:
Harvard Law School, Massachusetts
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Summary

Despite the election of a civilian government in Myanmar in 2015 – the first since 1962 – the transition from military rule to human rights-respecting democratic governance remains a major work in progress. This chapter examines the sociopolitical causes of current populist tensions in Myanmar, such as the historical roots of ultra-nationalism and militarization, which extend back to the country’s colonial past. Persistent military offensives against ethnic and religious minorities, most acutely against the Muslim Rohingya population, are supported by a populist culture of intolerance that not only threatens persecuted communities but places the future of democracy in Myanmar at risk. The stoking of violence in the Rohingya crisis is also linked to radical “Buddhist” organizations, including the 969 and MaBaTha (Race and Religion Protection Committee). The chapter closes by examining how the international community and human rights systems can still contribute to developing an inclusive, human-rights-based culture in Myanmar.

Keywords

Populismhuman rightsMyanmarBurmaRohingyademocratizationincitementauthoritarianism
Type
Chapter
Information
Human Rights in a Time of Populism
Challenges and Responses
 , pp. 164 - 191
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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