Three years after an illegal military coup deprived Myanmar of limited democracy, the nation continues to fight its inner demons. Dubbed the ‘sick man of Southeast Asia’, it sees no light at the end of the tunnel as its military regime, the political class, and ethnic organisations persist with the violent conflict. This civil war has little hope of a clear victory for anyone.
Myanmar is a large multi-ethnic nation, located in a strategically significant neighbourhood. What happens in the country impacts its five neighbours: China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. Its fundamental tragedy lies in the historical reality that neither before nor during British colonial rule did it complete the task of nation-building — the crafting of a unified polity where its Bamar majority and a mixture of ethnic and religious minorities could live peacefully. Decades of military rule complicated the situation and the latest coup compounded it.
