Introducing NOBUS
In November 1999, the Centre for East and Southeast Asian Studies at Goteborg University (GESEAS) hosted a workshop to discuss the forming of a Nordic network of Burma researchers. The workshop led to the establishing of the Nordic Burma Studies Group (NOBUS) and may point to a resurgence in research on Burma in northern Europe.
* By PER LUNDBERG
The idea of a Nordic Burma Studies Group (NOBUS) emerged in Goteborg as an attempt to improve the co-ordination of Nordic research on Burma and to provide an open forum for researchers and Burmese colleagues residing in the Nordic countries. This network would also allow for much needed discussions on the unique premises that inform research in contemporary Burma. Besides the obvious geographical proximity, there are three main reasons for the formation of NOBUS. Firstly, today there is a growing number of researchers and senior students involved in Burma Studies in the Nordic countries and, faced with the risk of isolation, it would clearly benefit their research if they were able to meet regularly in an open forum. Secondly, a recognizable academic network would complement the increasing activity of a large number of NGOs in the Nordic region. Thirdly, the Nordic governments have adopted broadly similar approaches to Burma, thus permitting the formulation of new and vigorous research initiatives on Burma in the Nordic countries.
Invited to the workshop were some fourteen to sixteen researchers from the Nordic countries, representatives from various organisations and a number of Burmese colleagues. This first workshop encouraged participants to discuss their research experiences and their needs openly rather than calling upon them to present papers. For this reason, the workshop was held in an informal manner and with plenty of time for socializing. The weekend began on Friday afternoon with a well-attended and thought-provoking guest lecture by Dr Gustaaf Houtman on 'Myanmar and the Remaking of Human Origins'. The lecture was followed by a 'post-seminar' at the Department of Social Anthropology with a light meal, drinks, and discussions that went on late into the night.
During the first day, representatives from a number of institutions were given the opportunity to present news of ongoing activities, to discuss problems encountered, as well as to provide ideas for joint efforts. In this sense, the workshop was a first step towards an inventory of Nordic research on Burma. More specifically, the workshop sought to review critically the state of Burma Studies as an academic and social field. The political climate in Burma presents researchers and academic institutions with a set of dilemmas.
Conditions inside Burma make both lengthy fieldwork and independent commentary difficult and present the social scientist with both practical and methodological challenges. More importantly, there are ethical considerations that relate both to the politicized nature of research and writing in Burma and to the vulnerability of interviewees and informants at the hands of the authorities. Along with a potential for conducting innovative research in areas (thematic and geographic) previously unknown to researchers, there is a risk of isolation because of the lack of recent academic works to come out of Burma. It was therefore agreed that a sensitive, well-informed, and reflective attitude should be fostered both in conducting research and in everyday relations. At a time where many are contemplating engaging with Burma, these are issues that need to be discussed by all researchers, newcomers as well as seasoned veterans.
A Nordic approach?
The organizers also had an interest in mapping out general outlines of what could be termed the wider Burma Studies community and had invited Dr Gustaaf Houtman to help shed light on how to approach Burma as a social and academic field (and indeed where to locate Burma Studies resources).
The participants were given an interesting and insightful commentary on 'the state of Burma Studies' worldwide, and from the discussions that followed a few characteristics emerged that might possibly constitute a 'Nordic approach' to Burma Studies. On the one hand, Nordic researchers suffer from a lack of historical, linguistic and biographical resources as well as academic traditions in key fields of Burma Studies. On the other, they are relatively unburdened by historical, colonial, and political affiliations that inform Burma Studies elsewhere. This leaves individual researchers with a great deal of freedom to conduct new and innovative research, but also entails a considerable disadvantage in acquiring the necessary research skills, in setting up the formalities of fieldwork, and in relations with Burmese institutions. Similarly, without institutional traditions and affiliations to fall back on, assessing the quality (and impact) of research now falls on the individual researcher alone.
In an inventory of Nordic research thus far, it emerged that very few Nordic scholars had actually carried out fieldwork inside Burma itself, choosing instead to work with Burmese people who live along the borders of Burma. Now, as in the past, Nordic research is informed by a will to understand contemporary socio-political dynamics and, as a result, the Nordic countries have little to show in terms of studies in fields traditionally associated with Burma Studies (religious studies, history, art and archaeology, linguistics, and literature). While situating itself at present primarily within the templates of contemporary social sciences, there is a great need to diversify and deepen the Nordic research capacity with regard to Burma as well as to encourage and invite scholars from all disciplines with little or no previous experience of Burma to engage in Burma Studies. Throughout the workshop, the importance of relating academic research to the needs of Burmese civil society remained a key issue. This was agreed upon as crucial and, given the nature of Nordic-Burmese affiliations and the research that is carried out today, the idea that in-depth studies should go together hand in hand with applied research was welcomed.
Guiding principles
During the last day of the workshop, participants discussed what could be seen as the general guidelines for NOBUS and came up with the following three interlinking aims:
-- Future activities should be looked upon from a long-term perspective. Therefore, NOBUS should do more than invite high-profile foreign scholars to disseminate their findings at international conferences. Efforts should also be made to supporting up-and-coming researchers, and hence emphasize the long-term development of research capacity related to Burma. The Nordic countries need to increase the numbers of PhD projects and to formulate multi-disciplinary research programmes, in which a forum such as NOBUS could help senior students to enter PhD programmes. One way to ensure quality, continuity, and accessibility is for the Burmese language to be taught at least at one Nordic university and it was agreed that this should be made a long-term objective of NOBUS.
- Maintaining close ties with Burmese researchers and intellectuals was deemed crucial, to ensure both the quality and the relevance of Nordic research. In addition to keeping researchers close to Burmese realities and discourses, this could possibly help to make up for the lack of formal academic resources and the inaccessibility of Burma itself. Making an effort to invite more Burmese colleagues is one way to establish ties with Burmese researchers and intellectuals. Another way for these relations to be maintained and expanded is to support and build on the existing arrangement for Burmese students to be invited to Nordic universities on short-term academic scholarships. Likewise, a future research programme would ideally involve equal numbers of Nordic and Burmese scholars.
- Working to facilitate and maintain a high academic level must remain the key objective of NOBUS. In interacting closely with government agencies and non-government organizations, academics run the risk of being sidetracked into developing research skills and likewise when learning to read, write, and speak Burmese. As proficiency in the Burmese language and contacts with the social realities of contemporary Burma receives a top priority, NOBUS should actively work to help Nordic researchers become aware of institutions where appropriate tuition is available. An outward-looking strategy would still apply, and come naturally both in the sense of working to intensify relations with Burmese colleagues, in establishing contact with European centres and in relations with non-academic parties within the Nordic area. A fully developed Burma Studies Group would work both as an academic and as a public resource centre, making itself accessible to co-operation with organizations with an interest in Burma as well as society in general.
Future plans
It was agreed that in its first stage NOBUS would work to establish and consolidate itself as a network for Nordic researchers. This would be accomplished by providing basic information and networking services through an interactive web site which is in the making and will be online by March 2001. Furthermore, NOBUS will work actively with other Nordic institutes to arrange international conferences. Encouraging talks have been held with the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen and other organizations in the Nordic area, and the next workshop is scheduled to take place in mid-April 2001. In addition, a Research Group (Burma) has been set up by Burmese students who are interested and willing to engage in dialogue and activities with NOBUS. In short, all the right conditions seem to be in place for both distinguished and up-and-coming Burma researchers to meet the challenges and potential that contemporary Burma represents with curiosity and optimism, and above all, in a well-informed and responsible manner.
NOBUS is still in a phase of expansion and will need another workshop to consolidate its structure. Pending funding another workshop is scheduled to take place in early 2001. *
Dr Craig Reynolds
has discussed some of these dilemmas in a recent article entitled 'The Ethics of Academic Engagement with Burma' in May, R. J., M.B. Pedersen, and E. Rudland (eds.), Myanmar/Burma: Strong regime, weak state? London: C. Hirst & Co. (2000), pp.123-137. Dr Reynolds is a well-known Thai specialist who also teaches Burmese history at the Centre for Asian Societies and Histories, Australian National University, Canberra.
Dr Gustaaf Houtman
(Editor of Anthropology Today, Royal Anthropological Institute) researches Buddhist practices/discourses among the Burmese political leadership. He is currently working on the political role played by ideas about 'culture'on the part of the Burmese military. Recent publications include Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, Tokyo: ILCAA (1999).
The Nordic countries have a strong interest in working to support and to participate in the maintaining of a vibrant Burmese civil society. This issue has been on the agenda of several recent conferences and workshops, and has recently been discussed by Danish researcher
Morten B. Pedersen
in an article entitled 'International Policy on Burma: Coercion, Persuasion, or Co-operation? Assessing the Claims' in May, R.J., M.B. Pedersen, and E. Rudland, (eds.), Myanmar/Burma: Strong regime, weak state? London: C. Hirst & Co.(2000), pp.195-240. Morten Pedersen is a research scholar in the Department of Political & Social Change, Australian National University, Canberra. He is currently working on a project on the international dimensions of Burma's political process.
Suggestions, comments, and questions on these forthcoming events and/or on the overall approach of NOBUS are warmly welcomed by the author:
Per Lundberg is a PhD student in Anthropology at Goteborg University,
Goteborg, Sweden.
E-mail: per.lundberg@sant.gu.se