Against the current: The survival of authoritarianism in Burma

Pacific Affairs

Volumn 70, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 333-350

  Alamgir, Jalal ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AUTHORITARIANISM; DEMOCRATISATION; NATIONAL POLITICS; POLITICAL THEORY;

MYANMAR;

EID: 0031398322     PISSN: 0030851X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/2761026     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties 1995-96 (New York: Freedom House, 1996), p. 4.
2. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
3. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
4. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
5. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
6. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
7. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
8. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
9. The literature is vast and expanding. Examples are Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986); Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern (New York: Random House, 1990); Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Stephan Haggard and Stephen B. Webb, eds., Voting for Reform: Democracy, Political Liberalization, and Economic Adjustment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); and Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
10. Neil Smelser, "Mechanisms of and Adjustments to Change," in T. Burns, ed., Industrial Man (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969).
11. Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, reprinted in Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 2d ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978), p. 630, original italics. And as Engels put it, though a bit sarcastically, "A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is," in Friedrich Engels, On Authority, reprinted in Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, p. 733.
12. Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, reprinted in Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 2d ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978), p. 630, original italics. And as Engels put it, though a bit sarcastically, "A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is," in Friedrich Engels, On Authority, reprinted in Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, p. 733.
13. Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, reprinted in Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 2d ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978), p. 630, original italics. And as Engels put it, though a bit sarcastically, "A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is," in Friedrich Engels, On Authority, reprinted in Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, p. 733.
14. Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, reprinted in Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 2d ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978), p. 630, original italics. And as Engels put it, though a bit sarcastically, "A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is," in Friedrich Engels, On Authority, reprinted in Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, p. 733.
15. A recent application of such a thesis is Dietrich Rueschemeyer, E. H. Stephens, and John D. Stephens, Capitalist Development & Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), which finds the working class as "the most consistent pro-democratic force," and that their weakness perpetuated authoritarian coalitions between the middle class and the landed aristocracy. Barrington Moore also highlights the antidemocratic nature of the landed gentry. Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966). See, in addition, Hamza Alavi, "The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh," New Left Review, no. 74 (1972), pp. 59-81; and Alavi, "India and the Colonial Mode of Production," The Socialist Register 1975 (London: Merlin, 1975).
16. A recent application of such a thesis is Dietrich Rueschemeyer, E. H. Stephens, and John D. Stephens, Capitalist Development & Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), which finds the working class as "the most consistent pro-democratic force," and that their weakness perpetuated authoritarian coalitions between the middle class and the landed aristocracy. Barrington Moore also highlights the antidemocratic nature of the landed gentry. Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966). See, in addition, Hamza Alavi, "The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh," New Left Review, no. 74 (1972), pp. 59-81; and Alavi, "India and the Colonial Mode of Production," The Socialist Register 1975 (London: Merlin, 1975).
17. A recent application of such a thesis is Dietrich Rueschemeyer, E. H. Stephens, and John D. Stephens, Capitalist Development & Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), which finds the working class as "the most consistent pro-democratic force," and that their weakness perpetuated authoritarian coalitions between the middle class and the landed aristocracy. Barrington Moore also highlights the antidemocratic nature of the landed gentry. Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966). See, in addition, Hamza Alavi, "The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh," New Left Review, no. 74 (1972), pp. 59-81; and Alavi, "India and the Colonial Mode of Production," The Socialist Register 1975 (London: Merlin, 1975).
18. A recent application of such a thesis is Dietrich Rueschemeyer, E. H. Stephens, and John D. Stephens, Capitalist Development & Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), which finds the working class as "the most consistent pro-democratic force," and that their weakness perpetuated authoritarian coalitions between the middle class and the landed aristocracy. Barrington Moore also highlights the antidemocratic nature of the landed gentry. Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966). See, in addition, Hamza Alavi, "The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh," New Left Review, no. 74 (1972), pp. 59-81; and Alavi, "India and the Colonial Mode of Production," The Socialist Register 1975 (London: Merlin, 1975).
19. Clive Y. Thomas, The Rise of the Authoritarian State in Peripheral Societies (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1984), p. 119; also Basil Davidson, The Black Man's Burden (New York: Times Books, 1992).
20. Clive Y. Thomas, The Rise of the Authoritarian State in Peripheral Societies (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1984), p. 119; also Basil Davidson, The Black Man's Burden (New York: Times Books, 1992).
21. Guillermo O'Donnell, Modernization and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, 1973); Peter Evans, Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State and Local Capital in Brazil (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979); Stephan Haggard, Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in Newly Industrializing Countries (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990).
22. Guillermo O'Donnell, Modernization and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, 1973); Peter Evans, Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State and Local Capital in Brazil (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979); Stephan Haggard, Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in Newly Industrializing Countries (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990).
23. Guillermo O'Donnell, Modernization and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, 1973); Peter Evans, Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State and Local Capital in Brazil (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979); Stephan Haggard, Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in Newly Industrializing Countries (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990).
24. Huntington, The Third Wave.
25. See Josef Silverstein, Burma: Military Rule and the Politics of Stagnation (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977); and David I. Steinberg, Burma's Road Toward Development: Growth and Ideology under Military Rule (Boulder: Westview Press, 1981), chapters 1 and 2.
26. See Josef Silverstein, Burma: Military Rule and the Politics of Stagnation (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977); and David I. Steinberg, Burma's Road Toward Development: Growth and Ideology under Military Rule (Boulder: Westview Press, 1981), chapters 1 and 2.
27. Mya Maung, Totalitarianism in Burma: Prospects for Economic Development (New York: Paragon Press, 1992), p. 19.
28. Robert Taylor, The State in Burma (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987), p. 296.
29. Silverstein, Burma: Military Rule, pp. 80-87.
30. Wilfried Lütkenhorst, "Industrial Development and Industrial Policy in Myanmar: Turning Challenges into Changes," in Mya Than and Joseph L. H. Tan, eds., Myanmar Dilemmas and Options (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1990), p. 175; data from table 6.
31. Taylor, The State in Burma, p. 344.
32. Far East and Australasia 1996 (London: Europa Publications, 1996), p. 644.
33. These statistics are from Steinberg, Burma's Road, p. 78 and table 5.1.
34. UNCTAD, Least Developed Countries 1995 Report (NewYork: United Nations, 1995), p. A-3.
35. Taylor, The State in Burma, p. 351.
36. UNDP, Human Development Report 1994 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 163.
37. See Mya Maung, The Burma Road to Poverty (New York: Praeger, 1991), chapters 6-7.
38. Taylor, The State in Burma, p. 291.
39. Ibid., p. 307-10.
40. Steinberg, Burma's Road, p. 169.
41. Freedom in the World, 1993-1994, pp. 174-76; see also Amnesty International Report 1989 (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1989), pp. 165-68. Amnesty estimates that over one thousand were killed between March and September of 1988. Bertil Lintner, Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (London and Bangkok: White Lotus, 1990), and Maung, Totalitarianism, chapter 2, discuss in detail the student revolts of 1988.
42. Freedom in the World, 1993-1994, pp. 174-76; see also Amnesty International Report 1989 (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1989), pp. 165-68. Amnesty estimates that over one thousand were killed between March and September of 1988. Bertil Lintner, Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (London and Bangkok: White Lotus, 1990), and Maung, Totalitarianism, chapter 2, discuss in detail the student revolts of 1988.
43. Freedom in the World, 1993-1994, pp. 174-76; see also Amnesty International Report 1989 (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1989), pp. 165-68. Amnesty estimates that over one thousand were killed between March and September of 1988. Bertil Lintner, Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (London and Bangkok: White Lotus, 1990), and Maung, Totalitarianism, chapter 2, discuss in detail the student revolts of 1988.
44. Freedom in the World, 1993-1994, pp. 174-76; see also Amnesty International Report 1989 (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1989), pp. 165-68. Amnesty estimates that over one thousand were killed between March and September of 1988. Bertil Lintner, Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (London and Bangkok: White Lotus, 1990), and Maung, Totalitarianism, chapter 2, discuss in detail the student revolts of 1988.
45. Aung San Suu Kyi, "In Quest of Democracy," in Freedom from Fear and Other Writings (London: Viking, 1991), p. 175. See also Josef Silverstein, "The Idea of Freedom in Burma and the Political Thought of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Pacific Affairs, vol. 69, no. 2 (1996), pp. 211-28.
46. Aung San Suu Kyi, "In Quest of Democracy," in Freedom from Fear and Other Writings (London: Viking, 1991), p. 175. See also Josef Silverstein, "The Idea of Freedom in Burma and the Political Thought of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Pacific Affairs, vol. 69, no. 2 (1996), pp. 211-28.
47. Silverstein, Burma: Military Rule, pp. 97-100.
48. For a description see Lintner, Outrage. The statistics are from Freedom in the World 1995-96, p. 165.
49. Maung, Totalitarianism, p. 185.
50. The statistics are from UNDP, Human Development Report 1994, p. 34; US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1995 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1996), pp. 42-43; and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) webpage at the following URL: http://www.sipri.se/projects/Milex/-expenditure/Myanmar.html, October 7, 1996.
51. The statistics are from UNDP, Human Development Report 1994, p. 34; US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1995 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1996), pp. 42-43; and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) webpage at the following URL: http://www.sipri.se/projects/Milex/-expenditure/Myanmar.html, October 7, 1996.
52. TV statistics are from UNDP, Human Development Report 1994, p. 161. The Nichols story is covered in Financial Times, October 5, 1996, p. 1.
53. TV statistics are from UNDP, Human Development Report 1994, p. 161. The Nichols story is covered in Financial Times, October 5, 1996, p. 1.
54. Asia 1995 Yearbook (Hong Kong: Review Publishing Company, 1995), p. 97.
55. AP Wire Service, "Burma Groups Call for Talks," January 16, 1997, 2:02 PM EST.
56. See Chi-shad Liang, Burma's Foreign Relations: Neutralism in Theory and Practice (New York: Praeger, 1990); Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1991), chapter 9.
57. See Chi-shad Liang, Burma's Foreign Relations: Neutralism in Theory and Practice (New York: Praeger, 1990); Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1991), chapter 9.
58. John Badgley, "Myanmar in 1993: A Watershed Year," Asian Survey, vol. 34, no. 2 (1994), pp. 153-59.
59. World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1995, p. 155.
60. Chi-shad Liang, Burma's Foreign Relations, chapter 5.
61. Josef Silverstein, "Burma in an International Perspective," Asian Survey, vol. 32, no. 10 (1992), pp. 951-63.
62. Clark Neher, "Asian Style Democracy," Asian Survey, vol. 34, no. 11 (1994), pp. 949-61.
63. Quoted in Charles Grawbow, "Asia: The Authoritarian Challenge," in Freedom in the World 1993-94, pp. 41-49.
64. Silverstein, "Burma in an International Perspective," p. 952. Suu Kyi has recently asked the United Nations to vacate the Burmese seat in the organization, so that SLORC cannot claim international acceptance of its role.