This topical book studies the process of democratic transition in Myanmar. It outlines the factors that contributed to the political transition in the country and the circumstances in which the transition from military rule of nearly five decades to democracy took place. The author shows how political groups —especially Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy — and the military that had been hostile to the idea and practice of democracy came to work together, paving the way for the political change after protracted struggle. The volume also examines the role of the civil society, elites, external agencies, and institutions in the process of democratic change.

Bringing together a balance of primary ethnographic fieldwork and nuanced analyses, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of Asian and Southeast Asian Studies, politics and political processes, democratization process and democratic transitions, international relations, peace and conflict studies, especially those concerned with Myanmar.