5 - 6 AUGUST 1999
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Burma Update Conference
On August 5 and 6, 1999, the first Burma Update conference was held at the Australian National University in Canberra. For many years Australia has had a significant interest in Burma through activist and advocacy activities. As far as I know, however, this is first time an academic conference on contemporary Burmese politics has been held in Australia. We had anticipated a low-key conference, but the interest and enthusiasm was such that it grew into a major event, with over 140 people attending from academic, government, private sector, and community groups.
By EMILY RUDLAND
Academic gatherings such as this are important because Burma has a rather low academic profile in most of the world. The possibilities for conducting research in Burma are extremely limited. As a result, Burma has been largely overlooked both in academic and government circles, except as a democracy cause. The eight speakers each gave seminar-length presentations in their areas of expertise. Dr Mary P. Callahan spoke on military-society relations in Burma in 1988, dismissing the simplistic perception of the military as a monolithic institution. This in-depth analysis of internal military politics did not underestimate the strength of the institution, but characterized the years since 1988 as an attempt to repair 'Cracks in the Edifice'. Andrew Selth spoke on the military from another angle, by projecting a number of scenarios for the future armed forces both under military and democratic rule. In this, he raised the pragmatic consideration that a democratic government in Burma will face many problems, including some of the same ones the current regime cannot deal with successfully.The military is central to Burmese politics, mainly as a result of its attempts to destroy alternate power centres. Both Dr David I. Steinberg and Dr Craig Reynolds, however, indicated that, great though the coercive power of the Burmese military may be, it is less than absolute. Steinberg examined this issue by revisiting a political culture approach that shows power, legitimacy, and social space as being grounded in a historical and cultural context. Although he concluded that the current political impasse is rooted in this legacy and unlikely to be resolved easily, he is optimistic that an eventual change is inevitable. Reynolds' account of a personal dilemma and his experience of the intellectual elite in Burma was complementary to this conclusion, by indicating that there are avenues of pluralism that remain slightly open.
The second day of the conference built upon the examination of the domestic political scene by expanding the level of analysis beyond Burma's borders. Dr Mya Than assessed the Burmese economy in light both of ASEAN membership since July 1997, and of the Asian financial crisis that preoccupied Burma's main allies soon afterward. His conclusion was that these events have not had a major impact on the Burmese economy, with the Asian crisis causing no more than a setback to the slow processes of development. Bertil Lintner also examined the Burmese economy, but focused instead on those exports that are not accounted for in the GDP calculation, namely narcotics. He detailed the extent to which the drug trade is inextricable linked to the political problems facing Burma, and how proceeds from the drug trade are the main prop that holds up the economy, and through that, the rule of the military regime.
The last two papers turned the focus more to the perspective of outsiders. Morten B. Pedersen gave a comprehensive analysis of international policy toward Burma over the last decade, specifically focusing on attempts to promote political reform. He looked at the three different approaches to relations with Burma and systematically deconstructed the rhetoric within them using an examination of the military mind and the dynamics of Burmese politics. The final presentation, by Dr Mohan Malik, placed the issue of international policy towards Burma in a realist context of regional security. He made it obvious that Burma's domestic politics are highly relevant to regional politics, mainly due to the efforts of the country's two large neighbours China and India to gain influence over Burma. Malik takes a controversial position that sees Burma's independence, security and stability compromised as it is pressured to fall in line with China's grand strategy for the twenty-first century.
The Burma Update developed as a growing interest in Burma studies at the ANU which has been promoted by Professor Desmond Ball (author of Burma's Military Secrets: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) from 1941 to Cyber Warfare (1998), Andrew Selth (author of Transforming the Tatmadaw: The Burmese Armed Forces Since 1988 (1996), and a few post-graduate students writing on Burmese politics. The success of the Burma Update has given a boost to aims within the ANU to establish a Burma Studies Centre. The eight papers are currently being edited into a book, Burma/Myanmar: Strong Regime, Weak State? which will be published in October 1999 by Crawford House and their associates. *
Emily Rudland, PhD Candidate, Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University.