Everyday Economic Survival in Myanmar

Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-0-299-32060-7
Verlag: The University of Wisconsin Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: New Perspectives in SE Asian Studies

Reforms in Myanmar (formerly Burma) have eased restrictions on citizens' political activities. Yet for most Burmese, Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung shows, eking out a living from day to day leaves little time for civic engagement. Citizens have coped with extreme hardship through great resourcefulness. But by making bad situations more tolerable in the short term, these coping strategies may hinder the emergence of the democratic values needed to sustain the country's transition to a more open political environment.

Thawnghmung conducted in-depth interviews and surveys of 372 individuals from all walks of life and across geographical locations in Myanmar between 2008 and 2015. To frame her analysis, she provides context from countries with comparable political and economic situations. Her findings will be welcomed by political scientists and policy analysts, as well by journalists and humanitarian activists looking for substantive, reliable information about everyday life in a country that remains largely in the shadows.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Menschenrechte, Bürgerrechte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- List of Illustrations
- Preface: A Personal Odyssey
- Chronology
- List of Abbreviations
- Terminological Note
- Introduction
- 1 Variations in Coping Strategies
- 2 Living Frugally
- 3 Working on the Side
- 4 Networks, Community, and External Aid
- 5 Boosting Morale
- 6 Accommodating, Resisting, and Exiting
- Conclusion: Implications for Regime Change and Democracy
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index

Über Autor(innen)

Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung is a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts. Growing up in Burma, she and her family employed many of the coping strategies she would later study. She is the author of several books, including Behind the Teak Curtain: Authoritarianism, Agricultural Policies, and Political Legitimacy in Rural Burma.