Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- The Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 State-society Relations in Southeast Asia
- 3 Minorities and State-building in Mainland Southeast Asia
- 4 British Policy towards Myanmar and the Creation of the ‘Burma Problem’
- 5 Between Democracy and Economic Development: Japan's Policy towards Burma/Myanmar Then and Now
- 6 Legitimacy in Burma/Myanmar: Concepts and Implications
- 7 Associational Life in Myanmar: Past and Present
- 8 Mapping the Contours of Human Security Challenges in Myanmar
- 9 Reflections on Confidence-building and Cooperation among Ethnic Groups in Myanmar: A Karen Case Study
- 10 Peace Initiatives among Ethnic Nationalities: The Kachin Case
- 11 The Shan in Myanmar
- 12 Reality Check on the Sanctions Policy against Myanmar
- Index
8 - Mapping the Contours of Human Security Challenges in Myanmar
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- The Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 State-society Relations in Southeast Asia
- 3 Minorities and State-building in Mainland Southeast Asia
- 4 British Policy towards Myanmar and the Creation of the ‘Burma Problem’
- 5 Between Democracy and Economic Development: Japan's Policy towards Burma/Myanmar Then and Now
- 6 Legitimacy in Burma/Myanmar: Concepts and Implications
- 7 Associational Life in Myanmar: Past and Present
- 8 Mapping the Contours of Human Security Challenges in Myanmar
- 9 Reflections on Confidence-building and Cooperation among Ethnic Groups in Myanmar: A Karen Case Study
- 10 Peace Initiatives among Ethnic Nationalities: The Kachin Case
- 11 The Shan in Myanmar
- 12 Reality Check on the Sanctions Policy against Myanmar
- Index
Summary
Secure states do not necessarily mean secure [inhabitants and] citizens
THE THREE MAIN NATIONAL CAUSES
Non-disintegration of the Union
Non-disintegration of the national solidarity
Perpetuation of national sovereignty
FOUR POLITICAL OBJECTIVES
Stability of the state, community peace and tranquility, prevalence of law and order
National reconsolidation
Emergence of a new enduring state constitution
Building of a new modern developed nation in accordance with the new state constitution
PEOPLE'S DESIRE
Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views
Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the State and progress of the nation
Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State
Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy
Introduction
Since the military took power in Myanmar on 18 September 1988, most of the academic literature and almost all of the news and commentaries on Myanmar politics and security have been focused on three broad themes: Human rights and democracy issues revolving around the democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the narcotics issue associated with the infamous “Golden Triangle” and ethnic issues viewed as a dichotomous relationship between the majority Bamar and the minority ethnic nationalities. With such a fixation on these seemingly intractable problems, equally significant issues relevant to the physical and spiritual well-being of Myanmar's inhabitants — both citizens and non-citizens alike — remain relatively obscured and unarticulated. This chapter is an attempt to address those issues from a human security perspective in order to highlight the vulnerabilities of the people of Myanmar to threats which are perhaps more insidious and no less deserving of policy sensitivity and response than those posed by armed conflict, erosion of national sovereignty and loss of territorial integrity. The aim is to identify a “convergence of the development and security agendas”.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- MyanmarState, Society and Ethnicity, pp. 172 - 218Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2007