Description

For the past several years, Myanmar has found itself in the international spotlight. The state once thought of a pariah in the international community made headlines in 2010 when its military rulers dissolved the junta that had ruled the country since 1962 in favour of a democratically elected civilian government. However, the path to democracy has not been without significant challenges. The Rohingya crisis has shed light on the continued control of military officials over the new government, and once revered leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces increased scrutiny for her defense of their practices at the International Court of Justice. By all accounts, the fight for democracy is ongoing in Myanmar. What are the obstacles to its achivement of a quality democracy? What is the role of international actors in advancing or suppressing this? How will the governing National League for Democracy handle the Rohingya Crisis with increasing nativist sentiments?

Join the Contemporary Asian Studies Students’ Union and the Synergy Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies on February 6th from 2-4PM as we dissect the democratic progress of Myanmar. Refreshments and snacks will be provided!

Jacques Bertrand is Professor and Associate Chair (Graduate) of Political Science, as well as Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies and Director of the Collaborative Master’s Program in Contemporary East and Southeast Asian Studies (Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs) at the University of Toronto. He is the author/co- editor of Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia (Cambridge, 2004); Multination States in Asia: Accommodation or Resistance (Cambridge, 2010); Political Change in Southeast Asia (Cambridge, 2013); and Democratization and Ethnic Minorities: Conflict or Compromise? (Routledge, 2014). He is finalizing a book manuscript on Democracy and Secessionist Conflict in Southeast Asia (Cambridge UP)and a book (w/ Ardeth Thawnghmung and Alexandre Pelletier) entitled Winning by Process: The State, Democratic Transition, and Ethnic Conflict in Myanmar.

Matthew Walton is an Assistant Professor in Comparative Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Previously, he was the inaugural Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on religion and politics in Southeast Asia, with a special emphasis on Buddhism in Myanmar.

Joseph McQuade is the Richard Charles Lee Postdoctoral Fellow in the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a former SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for South Asian Studies. He is also Editor-in-Chief at the NATO Association of Canada, where he runs the newly-created Centre for Disinformation Studies program stream. Dr. McQuade is affiliated with the Queen’s University Global History Initiative and with the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, and is a Managing Editor of the Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies.