Author: Hlaing, Kyaw Yin

Source: South East Asia Research, Volume 15, Number 2, July 2007 , pp. 213-254(42)

Publisher: IP Publishing Ltd

Abstract:

This paper, based largely on interviews, examines relations between the state and a number of societal groups - business, students, the sangha (monks), peasants and workers - in Burma since independence. It argues that state-society relations in Burma cannot be reduced to a series of zero-sum games. Although it is possible that the relations between the state and anti-state activists, such as students and monks, would take the form of zero-sum games, it is argued here that existing studies fail to explain the complexity of the state's relations with those segments of the Burmese population not actively opposed to the state, such as the business community. The paper explores the mutually empowering aspect of state-society relations in Burma by highlighting the benefits that both post-colonial Burmese government officials and various societal groups have gained from their patronage networks. It further shows that, although the parliamentary period was a more democratic one than the two subsequent military periods, the bedrock of state-society relations in Burma throughout the post-colonial period has been clientelism.

Keywords: STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONS; STATE CAPACITY; ZERO-SUM GAME; INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY; CLIENTELISM

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5367/000000007781509571

Publication date: 2007-07-01

More about this publication?

• South East Asia Research publishes articles based on original research or fieldwork on all aspects of South East Asia within the disciplines of archaeology, art history, economics, geography, history, language and literature, law, music, political science, social anthropology and religious studies. This peer-reviewed journal is published four times per year by IP Publishing in cooperation with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). SOAS is the leading centre in this field in Europe and one of the most prestigious centres of South East Asian Studies in the world.

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