Democratic Dawn? Civil Society and Elections in Myanmar 2010-2012

Abstract

While the general elections in Myanmar in November 2010 were widely condemned, both national and international actors approached the by-elections of April 2012 as a political rite-de-passage to improve relations between the government and the opposition inside, and between the former pariah state and the international community outside the country. An undercurrent of the government-led transition process from an authoritarian to a formally more democratic regime was the development of a politically oriented civil society that found ways to engage in the electoral process. This article describes the emerging spaces of election-related civil society activism in the forms of civic and voter education, national election observation, and election-related agency in the media. Noting that, in particular, election observation helps connect civil society to regional and international debates, the paper draws preliminary conclusions about further developments ahead of the general elections in Myanmar expected to take place in 2015.

Taking Stock of Myanmar’s Political Transformation since 2011

“…While the international community suspended their sanction policy, moderate civil society organisations such as Myanmar Egress, Vahu Development Institute or the Euro-Burma Office -known as the "Third Force" -lobbied for continued political reforms within the country and for more development aid from outside (Camroux and Egreteau, 2010;Hlaing, 2014). The reforms eventually ushered in legislative changes that allowed Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD to participate in the 2012 by-elections and the 2015 general elections, leading to the electoral landslide of the NLD and the first civilian government in half a century (Lidauer, 2012;Maung, 2016). The informal alliance between military reformers and civil society also paved the way for a new peace initiative which culminated in the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) signed by eight of the fifteen ethnic armed organisations in October 2015.…”

Introducing the Myanmar Protest Event Dataset Motivation, Methodology, and Research Prospects

“…While the general reform process has received much scholarly attention (e.g., Bünte 2011Bünte , 2016Holliday 2013;Kyaw Yin Hlaing 2012), research on Myanmar's civil society has remained comparatively 'quiet' (notable exceptions are Lorch 2007;Petrie and South 2014;Prasse-Freeman 2012). To date, only a very small number of studies have looked at particular social movements and other civil society organisations that have occurred following the reforms (e.g., Chan 2017;Lidauer 2012;Simpson 2013). One could suppose that the gap in research, particularly beyond single case studies, is a result of the purge of the Burmese civil society during decades of military dictatorship.…”

1. Myanmar’s conflicted politics

“…Nonetheless other political changes, especially elections, have already shifted the basis for interaction. At the start of the transition, the 7 November 2010 general election was held under deliberately constrained circumstances (see Lidauer 2012). The USDP, which emerged from the mass membership organisation created by the former military regime, needed to ensure it won the majority of seats.…”