Suchergebnisse

Buchbesprechung von:Rene Hingst, Burma im Wandel: Hindernisse und Chancen einer Demokratisierung in Burma/Myanmar. Berliner Südostasien-Studien Bd. 2, Logos Verlag, Berlin, 2003, ISBN 3- 8325-0227-0.

This report provides an overview of United States policy towards Burma. The report discusses Burma - U.S. relations and the political situation in Burma.

Bekanntlich sah sich die Ranguner Militärdiktatur nach dem bestialischen Massaker im September 1988 gezwungen, das aufgebrachte burmesische Volk zu beschwichtigen. Dazu diente das Versprechen "freier Wahlen" zum Aufbau eines demokratischen Rechtsstaates. (.)

This report is an overview of Burma's relation with the United States.

This report discusses about Transnational Organized crime groups in Burma (Myanmar), that operates a multi billion dollar criminal industry that stretches across Southeast Asia.

While the image of modern Myanmar/Burma tends to be couched in human rights terms - and especially of a heroic Aung San Suu Kyi opposing an oppressive military regime - in reality there are several conflicts with ethnic and religious dimensions, as well as political and ideological differences between the opposition and the ruling military regime. This is not surprising in a country where 30% of the population and much of the land area are non-Burman, and where contradictory tendencies towards regional separatism versus unitary rule have divided the people since before independence. In what is probably the most comprehensive study of Burma's ethnic minorities to date, this volume discusses the historical formation of ethnic identity and its complexities in relation to British colonial rule as well as to the modern State, the present situation of military rule and its policy of 'myanmarfication'. Changes of identity in exile and due to religious conversion are analysed and discussed. Finally, the book deals with relevant and recent anthropological and sociological theoretical discussions on the ethnic identity, boundaries and space of all the main ethnic groups in Burma. It probes into the complexity and diversity and it provides more details and up-to-date information than previously collected in one volume.

Recent changes in Burma/Myanmar have been called the 'Burmese democratic spring'. While the international media have mainly focused on the economic opportunities offered by these changes and on the doings and sayings of Aung San Suu Kyi, the reality is far more complex. The country is desperately poor, divided by ethnic and religious rivalries and continues to suffer from some of the world's most intractable military conflicts while powerful elite factions oppose reform. Where, then, is the country heading? What are the key challenges it will face? Who are likely to be the key players in the unfolding events? What implications are there for international actors in arenas like policy, diplomacy, development and business? With contributions on topics like the political situation, international relations, ethnic and religious rivalries, and the economy, long-time observers of the situation offer insights and analysis that address these issues. The result is a tightly focused volume that will appeal to a broad readership interested in the current situation and its implications.

Trotz internationaler Kritik und des von dem State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) ins Leben gerufenen Komitees zur Verhinderung der militärischen Rekrutierung von minderjährigen Kindern im Jahre 2004 führt die Tatmadaw, die burmesische Armee, die Rekrutierung von Kindern nicht nur fort, sondern hat sie auch verstärkt.

Es herrschte weitgehend Einmütigkeit bei der öffentlichen Anhörung über "Die aktuelle Lage in Burma - Mögliche Konsequenzen für die Entwicklungs- und Außenpolitik". Doch bei Burma, das derzeit neben dem Irak als brutalstes Regime der Welt geächtet wird, ist es auch nicht schwer, in wesentlichen Punkten einen Konsens zu finden - selbst wenn so unterschiedliche Leute wie der Journalist und Article XIX-Aktivist Martin Smith und der Asienreferatsleiter des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (BMZ), Dr. Martin Greift, auf einem Podium sitzen.

This paper looks to answer the question: Why do citizens in Burma continue challenging the military regime through peaceful social movements despite of the threat of violent oppression? I set out to examine Burma as an anomaly in political opportunity structure theory. Political opportunity structure influences the type of political action most likely to take place within a regime by affecting which political claims are possible. At first, Burma appears to be a low-democracy, low-capacity regime, which should host civil wars. However, in Burma's cities, peaceful social movements continue to take place. My capstone seeks to explain this problem. In order to explain why social movements rather than the expected violent conflict take place in Burma's cities, I used data gathered from Freedom House to show that Burma falls squarely in the "low democracy" category of political opportunity structure. After describing the current theories, I constructed a chronology of political events in Burma's cities and compared those to political events in Burma's border regions to show how political participation differs between the two regions. By mapping political behavior on a timeline, I examined the different types of political actions by region in order to determine whether there is a difference in political action in cities compared to border regions. I argue that Burma is not a true anomaly in political opportunity structure, but rather that the current understanding of political opportunity structure is too basic to provide a valuable prediction of action in countries where state capacity is composed of two distinct factors, infrastructural and despotic capacity. Additionally, a center-periphery split in Burma (as well as many other countries) leads to very different political action between the majority-controlled cities and ethnic minority-controlled border regions. I suggest that solidary incentives offered by the Sangha, or Buddhist monks, as well as the political leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, provides pro-democracy movements in Burma with relational consumption goods that are valuable enough for protestors to overcome the threat of violence. The evidence for this argument comes from a data analysis of political events in Burma as well as a review of relevant scholarly research. In my analysis of different types of political actions by region, I found that political participation in Burma's cities generally takes the form of social movements, while political action in the border regions often occurs as violent conflict. I conclude that the reason why political participation in Burma takes different forms in the cities versus the border regions is because there are two distinct political opportunity structures within Burma. The first is a high-capacity, low democracy structure in the cities, where the government presence and infrastructural power is greatest. The second is a low-capacity, low democracy structure in the ethnic minority-controlled border states, where strained economic resources and limited despotic influence mean that the armed opposition groups are strong enough to combat the military in violent conflict. I call these disparate regional structures "micropolitical opportunity structures," and suggest that this theory is applicable to many other sites of political contention.

Die internationale Debatte über Burma ist derzeit geprägt durch Neubewertungen. Die wachsende Zahl von Friedensgesprächen zwischen dem herrschenden Staatsrat zur Wiederherstellung von Recht und Ordnung (SLORC) und verschiedenen bewaffneten ethnischen Oppositionsgruppen wirft ein scharfes Licht auf die Frage der humanitären und der Entwicklungshilfe. Eine Interpretation dessen, was diese Waffenstillstände sowohl auf nationaler als auch auf örtlicher Ebene bedeuten, ist immer noch schwer; dazu ist es noch zu früh. Außerdem bleibt die schwierige Frage des politischen Wandels in Rangun, wo Daw Aung San Suu Kyi immer noch unter Hausarrest steht und wo der vom SLORC im Januar 1993 einberufene Nationalkonvent langsam vorankommt.

Since 1997 the major Western powers have diplomatically isolated Burma and posed harsh sanctions against the country. The Obama administration's new policy towards Burma is one of sporadic, selective engagement while upholding economic sanctions. Recently Obama has extended the national emergency against Burma, arguing that the current government is initiating policies that are hostile towards US interests and pose a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the country- "because the actions and policies of the Government of Burma continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared on May 20, 1997 . must continue in effect beyond May 20, 2010," Obama said (JHA, 2010). Although Burma is no longer in a period of extreme diplomatic isolation, the sanctions against the state are still upheld. The existence of such sanctions are still causing many civilians within Burma to suffer but the abolishment of diplomatic isolation in the least has taken one step forward in a more progressive direction. The international community did not expect Burma to be as "solidified" as it was in the years of harsh sanctions and isolation and led many to realize that it simply was not working; if anything more damage was being done. The ethnic minorities in the periphery of the country are suffering the most as a result of the policy initiated in 1997. They suffer from lack of food, poor drinking water, forced labor, conventional warfare, structural violence, lack of infrastructure, loss of identity and more. The international community's goal has been to oust the current regime and install the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. What is generally overlooked is what ethnic minorities want if the current government is overthrown. History has clouded rationality of Burmans and the ethnic minorities alike; tensions exist that will be hard to break, tensions that have existed even before the colonization of Burma. Will these ethnic minorities be fair in negotiating with the Burman majority on how the state of Burma shall be constructed? Will the Burmese be open-minded in how to negotiate with the ethnic minorities on how the state shall be constructed? Disagreement and misunderstanding has existed between these two grand factions since Panglong and there has not been any reconciliation since. What can the international community do to provide the atmosphere that would most likely give reconciliation an upper hand? Whether the international community wants to agree or not, they are dependent on the domestic dynamics of Burma in order to make such a decision. New elections are supposed to take place this year as the government had promised in the early 90s, but whether or not they are going to be fairly held elections is a different story and one that has occurred too many times before.

The achievement of independence in 1948 was in many ways a watershed in Burma's history. At this time, a variety of Buddhist movements emerged that were part not only of a 'Burmese Buddhist revival', in which even the government was involved, but also a general re-enchantment of Asia. In the period following World War II, projects of nation-building and further modernization were implemented in many newly independent Asian nation states. The theories of modernization adopted by the rulers had presupposed that a new, rationalized and secularized order that had set them on the path of 'progress' would entail a decline of religion. However, instead there was a widespread resurgence of religion, and a variety of new, eclectic religious movements emerged in Southeast Asia. In the thriving religious field of postcolonial Burma, two lay Buddhist movements associated with two different meditation techniques emerged, viz.; the insight meditation movement and the concentration meditation movement. The latter consisted of a variety of esoteric congregations combining concentration meditation with esoteric lore, and some of these were characterized by fundamentalist trends. At the same time, the supermundane form of Buddhism became increasingly influential in the entire field of religion. The aim of the present article is to discuss how this supermundane dimension has reshaped the complex religious field in Burma, with particular emphasis on the esoteric congregations; to present the Burmese form of esoteric Theravāda Buddhism, and to situate the fundamentalist trends which are present in these contexts.

The achievement of independence in 1948 was in many ways a watershed in Burma's history. At this time, a variety of Buddhist movements emerged that were part not only of a 'Burmese Buddhist revival', in which even the government was involved, but also a general re-enchantment of Asia. In the period following World War II, projects of nation-building and further modernization were implemented in many newly independent Asian nation states. The theories of modernization adopted by the rulers had presupposed that a new, rationalized and secularized order that had set them on the path of 'progress' would entail a decline of religion. However, instead there was a widespread resurgence of religion, and a variety of new, eclectic religious movements emerged in Southeast Asia. In the thriving religious field of postcolonial Burma, two lay Buddhist movements associated with two different meditation techniques emerged, viz.; the insight meditation movement and the concentration meditation movement. The latter consisted of a variety of esoteric congregations combining concentration meditation with esoteric lore, and some of these were characterized by fundamentalist trends. At the same time, the supermundane form of Buddhism became increasingly influential in the entire field of religion. The aim of the present article is to discuss how this supermundane dimension has reshaped the complex religious field in Burma, with particular emphasis on the esoteric congregations; to present the Burmese form of esoteric Theravāda Buddhism, and to situate the fundamentalist trends which are present in these contexts.

Es hat in der Vergangenheit immer wieder UN-Resolutionen gegeben, die die Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen forderten, das Zusammentreten der 1990 gewählten Parlamentarier verlangten und den Staatsrat zur Wiederherstellung von Recht und Ordnung (SLORC) zur Machtübergabe aufriefen. Der SLORC hat sie ausnahmslos ignoriert, während er gleichzeitig systematisch die Gegner der Militärherrschaft in den von ihm kontrollierten Gebieten ausschaltete.