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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Maps | |
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| Preliminary Notes | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Crises That Are Burma/Myanmar | |
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| What is Burma? | |
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| Why are we interested in Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| Why should we be interested in Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| What can we learn from Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| Why is learning about Burma/Myanmar so difficult? | |
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| What are the crises facing Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| Important Residues from the Precolonial Period | |
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| How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events? | |
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| How did Burmese Kings view governance and authority, and is this relevant today? | |
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| What were Burma's relations with internal peoples, regions, and neighboring states? | |
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| What was the role of Buddhism in traditional Burma? | |
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| The Colonial Era's Importance in Understanding Burma/Myanmar Today | |
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| What led to the three Anglo-Burman Wars of the nineteenth century? | |
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| What was the role of India in colonial Burma, what are its residual influences, and why are they important? | |
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| What economic development programs did the British introduce? | |
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| What was the role of Buddhism during this period and what social changes affected the society? | |
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| How did Burmese nationalism develop and what have been its effects? | |
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| What was the impact of World War II on Burma, and what effect did the Japanese conquest have on Burma and its future? | |
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| How did the Burma army develop in the colonial period and under the Japanese? | |
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| How do the Burmese today consider the colonial era? | |
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| Independence and the Civilian Government (1948-1962): Mixed Heritages | |
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| How did independence come about? | |
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| What was the role of Aung San? | |
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| How did Burma deal with the political and ethnic rebellions? | |
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| Why didn't Burma join the Commonwealth? | |
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| How did the Chinese nationalist incursion affect Burma? | |
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| What were relations with the United States? | |
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| What were relations with China? | |
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| Was Burma communist or socialist, and what were the ideological influences on the society? | |
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| What were the government's plans for economic development? | |
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| What were effects of the 1947 civilian constitution? | |
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| How did the AFPFL operate and govern? | |
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| What caused the military "Caretaker" Government, how did it function, and what was its legacy? | |
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| How did the minorities fare under the civilian government? | |
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| How did the 1960 elections affect Burma? | |
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| What caused the coup of 1962? | |
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| How may we evaluate the civilian, democratic period? | |
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| The Military Coup, the Socialist Period (1962-1988), and the Perpetuation of Military Rule | |
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| What were the effects of the coup? | |
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| What was the "Burmese Way to Socialism"? | |
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| How did the BSPP operate? | |
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| What was the impact of the socialist policies? | |
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| How were foreign relations under the BSPP? | |
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| How did the 1974 constitution come about and what was its impact? | |
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| How did the indigenous minorities fare under the 1974 unitary state? | |
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| How were monks registered? | |
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| How was citizenship defined? | |
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| What was the role of General/President/Chairman Ne Win? | |
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| What happened to the economy in the 1980s? | |
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| What were the causes of the 1988 People's Revolution and the coup that followed? | |
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| The SLORC/SPDC Era (1988-Present): Continuation of Military Power | |
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| What was the SLORC and how did it change into the SPDC? | |
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| Who were the leaders of the military in this period, and how were they trained? | |
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| What political and economic policies were instituted shortly after the coup? | |
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| How did the political opposition develop and what was the National League for Democracy? | |
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| What was the role of Aung San Suu Kyi and what has happened to her? | |
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| What were the May 1990 elections about and what were the internal and external results? | |
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| What were the SLORC/SPDC's international relations, and how did Asian and Western nations react to the coup and the regime? | |
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| What is the state of social services in Myanmar? | |
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| What is the status of the private sector in Myanmar? | |
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| What is the status and role of the military in Myanmar? | |
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| How does the narcotics trade affect the society and international relations? | |
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| What are the roles and influence of minority religions (Islam, Christianity) in Myanmar? | |
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| What is and has been the status of women in Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| What is the status of the cease-fires with minority insurrections in Myanmar? | |
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| What are relations with the United States? | |
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| What are relations with China and what is the status of the Chinese in Myanmar? | |
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| What is India's policy toward Myanmar and how did it change? | |
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| What was Japan's relationship with Burma/Myanmar? | |
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| What has been the role of civil society and quasi-governmental groups? | |
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| What is the status of human right in Myanmar? | |
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| Why was General/Prime Minister Khin Nyunt removed from power, and what did this mean? | |
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| Why was the capital moved from Rangoon to Naypyidaw? | |
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| What is the role of Buddhism in Myanmar today and what is its relation to political legitimacy? | |
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| What happened in the Saffron Revolution of 2007? | |
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| What were the internal and external effects of Cyclone Nargis in 2008? | |
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| What happened in the referendum on the constitution in 2008 and what are its provisions? | |
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| The Nature of Burmese Politics | |
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| How do politics in Burma/Myanmar function, and what are its implications? | |
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| Issues in Myanmar's Future | |
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| What are the current and future strategic interests of foreign powers in Myanmar? | |
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| What is the future of the military in Myanmar under any new government? | |
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| How will the minorities deal with the new government? | |
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| What types of economic crises does the country face? | |
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| What are the social crises facing the state? | |
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| What are the needs of the state in a transition to a new government? | |
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| What role is there for multilateral and bilateral donors? | |
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| Is democracy a reasonable expectation for Myanmar in the near term? In the future? | |
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| What role can the major powers play in Myanmar? | |
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| What might be the roles of ASEAN, the UN, and the EU? | |
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| What might the role of the Burmese diaspora be in a new government? | |
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| Coda | |
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| Postscript | |
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| Suggested Reading | |
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| Index | |
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| About The Author | |