Myanmar's other struggles for democracy: conceptual contests in the Burmese democracy movement
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Democracy inspires many social movements around the world.Yet there is no consensus about its meaning.This thesis examines the Burmese democracy movement in the years leading up to the 2015 election victory of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.I argue that attention to the ways democracy was given meaning amongst activists, opposition leaders and aid workers in Myanmar reveals important conceptual contests.These were struggles not between military elites and the Burmese democracy movement but within the democracy movement, and with its Western supporters -what I have described as 'other' struggles for democracy.The concept of narrative can unlock new perspectives on the way democracy is given meaning by political actors, and especially in the construction of meaning through conceptual contest.Drawing on fifty formal interviews and three months of observation in Myanmar ( in 2013 and 2014) -within activist networks, aid agencies and the National League for Democracy -this study revealed three contrasting narratives.An institutional narrative, prominent amongst Western aid workers, emphasised the problem of personalised politics and the need for capacity building to develop formal democratic institutions.A benevolence narrative, common amongst activist leaders, highlighted the problem of dictatorial leadership and the need for unity, discipline and selfless leadership in the country's democratization.Finally, an equality narrative, prominent in other activist networks, stressed the problem of hierarchy in Burmese culture and a vision of democracy as relational equality.As simplified stories containing diverse visions, challenges and strategies, these narratives were important means through which democracy was understood and communicated.Yet activists and aid workers also used narratives of democracy to position themselves in relation to rivals -to establish themselves, and their allies, as experts who could define what 'genuine' democracy was, and was not.Conceptual contests in the democracy movement were not only over Anna Russell, Andrew Kirkwood and Kelly MacDonald, and Karl and Sue Dorning generously offered their homes at various points in this research.The University of Melbourne GRATS program and the School of Social and Political Sciences also provided financial support during my candidature.I appreciate the interest that Matthew Walton and Matthew Schissler showed in the early evolution of the ideas contained in this thesis, and also to Dave McClintock and Matt Desmond for their friendship and interest in reading chapter drafts at various stages.Garry Woodard
Author: Tamas Wells
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2624156755