State building and policy implementation are central processes for the legitimacy of governments worldwide. These critical facets of government institutions have been thoroughly challenged throughout Myanmar’s history, a country with an awful human rights record. In this essay, I will focus on the last decade in particular, during which Myanmar’s state capacity and political institutions have been challenged immeasurably. This essay will focus on the implications that pose a challenge to Myanmar’s state capacity and development. First, I will discuss the military coup d’état, which was followed by a military junta heading the Burmese state for several decades. I will then examine the issue of internally displaced people and the resulting ethnic and religious conflict. Lastly, I will investigate the issue of drug trafficking and slave labor in Myanmar. State capacity is an enduring and central process for state autonomy. The state is famously defined by sociologist Max Weber as the “human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.” Therefore, state capacity is the rule of enforcement: “the ability of states to plan and execute policies, therefore being able to enforce laws cleanly and transparently.” The capacity of the state is central to the legitimacy of the state, which can be challenged and measured by a country's internal coherence, stability, collection of tax, and security of the state of the enforcement law. O’Neil continues to say a state is weakly institutionalized if it must exercise force to ensure compliance. A military junta has been in power in Myanmar since the coup d’état in 1962, which overthrew the government and opened the “Burmese road to socialism.” The military junta has been accused of numerous human rights violations, including the suppression of political opposition, media censorship, and the use of forced labor. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are individuals who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or natural disasters. Myanmar has one of the largest IDP populations in the world, with an estimated 350,000 people displaced. The majority of IDPs are from ethnic minority groups, such as the Rohingya, Kachin, and Shan. The displacement of these groups has resulted in ethnic and religious conflict, with reports of violence, rape, and murder. The government has been accused of exacerbating the situation by failing to protect IDPs and by restricting access to humanitarian aid. Drug trafficking and slave labor are also significant challenges to Myanmar’s state capacity and development. Myanmar is one of the largest producers of opium in the world, with an estimated 420,000 hectares of opium poppy cultivation in 2010. The drug trade has been linked to corruption, organized crime, and the funding of armed groups. Additionally, Myanmar has been accused of using forced labor, particularly in the production of goods such as jade and textiles. The use of forced labor has been linked to human trafficking and other human rights abuses. In conclusion, Myanmar’s state capacity and political institutions have been challenged immeasurably over the last decade. The military junta, internally displaced people, drug trafficking, and slave labor are significant challenges to Myanmar’s state capacity and development. The government must take steps to address these issues and work towards building a more legitimate and effective state.
In countries of poverty, lacking of security is a long-lasting common problem. Because some of the poor countries have corrupt government, and some of them might be in a tense situation which wars will happen at anytime. Laos, a Southeast Asian country, shares a border with China. In Laos, smuggling drugs is very popular, because of lacking of security. Germinating the seeds of drugs is easier in the country, since less people are in charge of public security. Since Laos is one of east Asia’s poorest countries, people are eager to get wealthy. By smuggling drugs, it is easier for people to earn a lot of money. With the access to drugs effortlessly, young people are easily addicted to drugs. Since young people do not know how to control themselves, using drugs becomes a serious
Sommer, Rebecca. Society for Threatened Peoples International. United Nations. Report on the Situation in the Xaysomboun Special Zone and the 1100 Hmong-Lao Refugees. Earth Peoples, 2006. Web. .
Raymond, Janice G. “The Ongoing Tragedy of International Slavery and Human Trafficking: An Overview.” Serial No. 108–137. 29 October 2003.
An alternative model of peacebuilding would be an approach that is built upon community initiatives, similar to transformative peacebuilding. It is important that each situation is evaluated and the best suited institutions and structures are established. This means that in some situations the structures of politics, economics, justice and governance will not conform to the formulaic liberal model. Bottom up initiatives allow for engagement with local institutions, customs and norms (Newman,et Al.,2009,46). Furthermore, a transformative peacebuilding approach would empathize addressing the underlying sources of violence in each post- conflict community. This alternative model of peacebuilding would also promote growth oriented adjustment policies
The lack of nationalism also proved to be a conflict for the people of Burma or Myanmar. The militaristic government’s philosophy of ruling isolated left people to live in absolute poverty and is a major human rights concern.
179; Lynn-Jones 1998). Compelling evidence in support of this weakness is especially demonstrative in the state of Rwanda in 1993, whereby within the year an estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Rwandans were killed as a result of democracy promotions triggering nationalistic violence. In Burma in 1990, the elections sparked ruthless military oppression that was especially aimed towards supporters and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD). In Indonesia, dictatorships deploy militaries and security agencies in an attempt to undermine electoral transitions (Staniland n.d.). Conversely, there have been a slew of states that have avoided major internal and external conflict in their transition to democracy (Lynn-Jones 1998). However, the fact remains that democratic advocacy has the capacity to intensify state turbulence rather than assuage it, giving rise to violent nationalism and ethnic
"Myanmar National Gun Acts of 1984." The Assembly of the Union. http://www.amyothahluttaw.gov.mm/ (accessed April 18, 2014).
Concerned authorities have focused essentially on criminalization and punishment, to find remedies to the ever-increasing prevalent drug problem. In the name of drug reducing policies, authorities endorse more corrective and expensive drug control methods and officials approve stricter new drug war policies, violating numerous human rights. Regardless of or perhaps because of these efforts, UN agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $US400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent of total international trade (Riley 1998). This trade has increased organized/unorganized crime, corrupted authorities and police officials, raised violence, disrupted economic markets, increased risk of diseases an...
Through this we see that the author’s point of view is someone who understands that the events that took place that morning in Burma, were not humane and degrading.
Happening on August 8, 1988, 8888 uprising, known as People Uprising,was a historical severe and bloody protest with approximate one million people in Burma, including a number of students, who were cracked down by military led by Ne Win, who ruled the country dictatorially. In response to the dictatorship, the protestors carried out the demonstration against the leadership of Ne Win aimed at claiming political rights and democracy, leaving 3,000 to 10,000 people dead. The following part will describe more detail about the main root causes of 8888 uprising.
Weak and failed states share many common characteristics. One of the most common features of a weak state is the presence of persistent violence. This violence is in the form of civil wars and civil unrest, this is an indicator that a government has lost legitimacy as well as control over some parts of territory. Other features include a weak bureaucracy that is very susceptible to corruption especially corruption from non-state actors such as terrorists and warlords. As the government’s power and influence continues to decline, citizens turn to these non-s...
In southeastern Asia, there is a country called Myanmar, or Burma. The country have enough natural resources and educated public to make one good economy. After the national democratic election happened in April 2012, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi 's party formed a new administration, Myanmar has embarked on an ambitious program of sweeping reforms to integrate its economy with the global system, as well as solving internal economic problems, there should be no doubt that this administration intends to improve the well-being of Myanmar’s population.
Nationality is between a country and a person, sometimes the people who are no relate to any country, call stateless. Also some of the stateless can be refugees, these two groups of people is care by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Nationless is a very big problem; it may affect more than 10 billion people in this world. Everyone in the world can be having their human right, but some activity in country only able nationals to participate, for example: election. Also much of the stateless didn't have their right, they may never get the ID of the country, just get in to jail, losing the chance of education and health services or can’t get a job (UNHCR, 2014). This article is talking about what power of the nation states has to manage issues and effect the beyond national boundaries. By the refugee Convention (1967), refugees can be applying t person who is fear to persecute by race, religion, nationality, or the member of a social group and government. In this person is don't want himself protect by that country who fear, also don't want to return to that country. By the divide of UNHCR, there are four types of people, which they care: Asylum-Seeker, Stateless people, Internally Displaced People and Returnees. Asylum-Seeker refers to the person who is finding the international protection, not all the asylum-seeker final can be a refugee, but all the refugees begin is an asylum-seeker. Stateless people refer to who are not relating to any country and national. Internally displaced people refer to the people who are forced to leave their home because of the wars, or some human problem, and getting in to another country from the border. Returnees refer to the people who return to their own country, they are supported by UNHCR when they arrive (UNHCR, 2014). The nation state is a country; they have the political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity. A country is mix by culture and nation that mean a nation state may in the same place. Much of the nation state is forms by a people with a polity
Bangladesh , a small country located in South East Asia, despite not being a major producer or consumer of narcotics has become a major trafficing route due to its geographical placement. Bangladesh is situated in the central point between the ‘golden triangle’ (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos) and the ‘golden crescent’ (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) in terms of geographical location. Due to being surrounded on all sides by major drug producing countries and its porous land, sea and air border it is increasingly becoming a major trafficking route for drugs.
Dyke (1966) argues that “there is no doubt that national security embodies the sovereignty of the state, the inviolability of its territorial boundaries, and the right to individual and collective self- defense against internal and external threats. But the state is secure only when the aggregate of people organized under it has a consciousness of belonging to a common sovereign political community; enjoy equal political freedom, human rights, economic opportunities, and when the state itself is able to ensure independence in its development and foreign policy.”