Myanmar: Interim Governance Arrangements: Comparative Principles and Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Bell
Keyword(s):  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
International Community ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Protest Movement ◽  
The Military ◽  
Governance Arrangements ◽  
The Way

Comparative Principles and Practice The background to this brief is the context of the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, and the declaration of a state of emergency by the military, which has effectively set aside the 2008 Constitution and the elections held under it. The coup has been rejected by the international community as illegitimate and has generated a strong civil disobedience and protest movement, and those elected in November 2020 have formed interim institutions aiming to move towards a democratic order. The military have also recently re-termed their post-coup regime as a ‘provisional government’. This brief sets out some comparative principles and practices of interim governance arrangements, which are a device often used to move on from crisis. The brief does not purport to offer direct advice as to the way forward in Myanmar, as that will be for all the relevant stakeholders in the country to agree. Rather, it seeks to support deliberation, and some questions for this purpose are provided at the end of the brief.

scholarly journals Military Coup in Burma Draws International Condemnation and Pressure

2021 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-567
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
One Year ◽  
Head Of Government ◽  
The Military

On February 1, 2021, the military in Burma overthrew the democratically elected government, declared a one-year state of emergency, and installed Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as the head of government. Since the coup, the military has cracked down on protestors, killing over 800 people and detaining many more. Numerous countries and international organizations, including the United States and the United Nations, have condemned the coup and ensuing violence and called for the restoration of a democratic government. The United States and other countries have also imposed rigorous sanctions on the Burmese military, its officials and affiliated corporations, and social media companies have imposed content restrictions to prevent the spread of pro-military propaganda.

The ‘disappeared’ in Argentina 1976–1980

1980 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Coad
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Daily Newspaper ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Robert Cox ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Disappeared ◽  
The Way

We publish below a list of writers and journalists abducted by the security forces and numbered among the ‘disappeared’ in Argentina since 24 March 1976, the date of the military coup that installed General Jorge Rafael Videla in power. Two eye-witness accounts illustrate the way in which such abductions usually take place. Finally, Robert Cox, editor-in-exile of the daily newspaper Buenos Aires Herald, describes how independent-minded journalists and the families of los desaparecidos ( ‘the disappeared’) have been affected. The material is introduced by Index on Censorship's researcher on Latin America, Malcolm Coad.

scholarly journals El Diario de Francisca: Representaciones infantiles sobre la violencia política en la vida cotidiana durante los 70 / Francisca’s private diary: Childhood representations of political violence in everyday life during the 70s

2018 ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Daniela Jara
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Sociedad Civil ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way ◽  
Violencia Politica

En este artículo se propone una lectura del Diario de Francisca, un registro autobiográfico escrito en plenos días de la Unidad Popular y el golpe de Estado por una niña de 11 años, miembro de una familia urbana de clase media alta. Luego de situar brevemente al diario íntimo o de vida como una práctica cultural propia de la modernidad, se analiza la manera en que el texto ilumina las operaciones a través de las cuales la niña va habitando el mundo, entramadas en dinámicas socio-afectivas mediadas, interrumpidas o potenciadas por la clase. Se sugiere que las representaciones infantiles articuladas en la escritura del diario íntimo muestran diversos aspectos de la producción y transmisión de la memoria de la violencia política, y de la relación con los contextos de su producción. El Diario describe una escena de la violencia política en que ésta, lejos de producirse de manera intempestiva, ya estaba instalada en las formas de la vida cotidiana de la Unidad Popular (UP).  Así, la voz de la niña nos permite ver cómo la violencia política está en parte instalada y cómo va instalándose en la sociedad civil durante la UP, ya no sólo entre víctimas y perpetradores, sino también entre los niños, quienes participan de ésta, la negocian y recrean o reproducen. Palabras claves: diario íntimo, violencia política, representaciones infantiles AbstractThis article focuses on Francisca's Diary, an autobiographical record written during the Unidad Popular (UP) period, more specifically in 1973. Francisca, an 11 year old girl, member of an urban middle-class family, witnesses the military coup and produces an intimate account of the events. After briefly situating the personal diary as a cultural practice typical of modernity, I will reflect on the way in which the text illuminates the operations through which the girl inhabits the world, embedded in socio-affective dynamics, interrupted or enhanced by social class. I suggest that Francisca’s Diary sheds light on various aspects of the production and transmission of the memory of political violence, the role of children representations and their relationship with the contexts in which they are produced. Also, I suggest that the Diary portraits a scene in which political violence was already embodied in the everyday life during the UP, no longer as a monopoly of victim and perpetrator agents. Rather I draw attention to the way in which the child negotiates, reproduces, represents and resists violence.Keywords: private diary, political violence, childhood representations

Irregular War, Local Community and Intimate Violence in Spain (1939–1952)

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-249
Author(s):  
Jorge Marco ◽  
Mercedes Yusta Rodrigo
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Intimate Violence ◽  
National Community ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

Spain was the first country where the anti-fascist resistance manifested itself through the violence of arms, in response to the military coup of 1936 which triggered a bloody civil war. It was also the last to lay down arms in the 1950s after a long post-war period when groups of armed opponents continued the struggle against dictatorship, especially in the countryside. This contribution analyses the specificities of the violence experienced after the official end of the war, as well as that of the groups of resistance and the repression of a large part of the rural population, suspected by the authorities of helping the armed movement. The notion of ‘intimate violence’ accounts for the way this violence was practised most of the time from within the communities, making the internal fractures opened by the war even deeper. Hence, it can also be shown that the reconstruction of a peaceful national community was never an objective of the dictatorship, which on the contrary sought to crush dissent by violence.

Back to the Barracks? Five Years ‘Revo’ in Suriname

1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Brana-Shute
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Military

On 25 November 1985 the Republic of Suriname celebrated ten years of independent statehood. That decade witnessed a number of unexpected and quite extraordinary events in the former Dutch colony. Since the last free parliamentary elections in 1977, the country has endured: a military coup d'etat (1980) the arbitrary arrest and detainment of leaders of the “old” political parties (1980); the nullification of its constitution and civil rights (1980) and the imposition of a “state of emergency” (1982); the appointment by the military high command of five civilian cabinets (1981,1982,1983,1984, and 1985); a foreign and domestic policy that has swung erratically between far left and center; a cordial relationship with Cuba unceremoniously broken by Suriname following the US-led invasion of Grenada; the tragic and colossally stupid murder of 15 (possibly more) prominent Surinamers opposed to the revolution (1982); the suspension of more than US$1.5 billion dollars of Dutch foreign aid (1982); seven alleged counter-coups, one of which supposedly enjoyed the support of the CIA and several American mercenaries (1980-1984); deteriorating relations with the Netherlands, to the point where there is no ambassador in the Hague; a rather visionary attempt to dismantle the ethnic structure of pre-revo party politics by creating “one national party;” a cozy relationship with Libya under the guise of “cultural exchange;” and the rapid deterioration of a once booming economy. Now in 1986, in the midst of a dialogue with the “old” political parties, there is robust talk of a return to civilian government.

scholarly journals The Failure of the International Community to Apply R2P and Atrocity Prevention in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Martin Mennecke ◽  
Ellen E. Stensrud
Keyword(s):  
International Community ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Cycle Of Violence ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Past ◽  
Atrocity Crimes ◽  
The Military

Abstract The case of Myanmar has become one of the most glaring examples for the failure of the international community to realise the promise made with the adoption of the responsibility to protect (R2P) norm in 2005: ‘Never again’ has turned into again and again. A mix of unwillingness and inability to prevent atrocity crimes has in Myanmar over the past ten years led to several instances of atrocity crimes and genocidal violence against the Rohingya. Most recently, the military coup of February 2021 has showcased that the notion of an international community exercising a responsibility to protect the population of Myanmar against crimes against humanity and other atrocity crimes dissembles into a few states openly shielding the perpetrators, a few condemning and countering the newest cycle of violence, and many silent bystanders to the ongoing atrocities. This article discusses the role of the R2P norm in the case of Myanmar and introduces the different contributions that comprise the special issue on Myanmar and the failure of R2P.

scholarly journals Post-election crisis in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
K. Efremova
Keyword(s):  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Aung San Suu Kyi ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Military ◽  
Commander In Chief

The article analyzes the current political situation in Myanmar where the military came back to power in February 2021. The legality of introducing the state of emergency by the military and of transferring the state power to the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is addressed. The situation in Myanmar is also compared with the neighbouring Thailand where military takeovers have become a political routine. The difference between Myanmar’s and Thailand’s coups and their perceptions by the international community is highlighted. The “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi factor” and the political-information campaign against Myanmar in global mass media are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the U.S. policy towards Myanmar as a country that is strategically located at the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The role of U.S.-based charity funds and social networks in organizing mass protests in Myanmar, in reaction to the state of emergency declared by the military, is explored. The Civil Disobedience Movement’s actions, goals and practical results are discussed. Finally, the article outlines scenarios of future developments and focuses on the key role of Myanmar’s military (the Tatmadaw) in peaceful solution of the post-election political crisis in Myanmar.

scholarly journals Islamism in the Political Strategy of Pakistan (Late 20th — Early 21st Centuries)

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
А. М. Родригес-Фернандес
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Tribal Sovereignty ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military ◽  
Governmental Strategy

В статье рассматриваются основные направления во внутренней и внешней политике Пакистана в конце XX — начале XXI века. Сформировавшаяся в это время правительственная стратегия была не только подготовлена предшествующими 2–3 десятилетиями развития, но и до сих пор является преобладающей либо в открытой, либо в слегка завуалированной форме. Характерно, что именно в этот период (12 октября 1999 г.) произошел военный переворот и новый военный диктатор генерал Первез Мушарраф объявил о задачах экономического оздоровления страны и создания «реальной», то есть мусульманской, демократии. Это означало, что при подавлении антиправительственных и экстремистских группировок новая власть делает резкий крен в сторону государственного исламизма и скрытой поддержке движения «Талибан» в Афганистане и «полосе независимых племён» (территория Пакистана вдоль афганской границы). Важной особенностью этого периода был не потерявший значения в дальнейшем союз исламистов и военной элиты, подготовленной в основном в Англии. Улемы поднимают в нужное время волну общественного недовольства и гражданского неповиновения, а армия устанавливает власть на длительное время и обеспечивает радикальным улемам высокие позиции в государственной иерархии. В статье использованы разнообразные по характеру источники по современной политической, социально-экономической и этноконфессиональной ситуации в Пакистане и Афганистане, включенные в сборник документов пакистанского исследователя Аалима. Интересные детали о военных лидерах Пакистана и реформаторской деятельности правительства к XX — началу XXI века приводятся в библиографических заметках американского эксперта С. Пауэра и пакистанского чиновника Ф. Шотойса. The article treats major trends of Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policy in the late 20th — early 21st centuries. The governmental strategy that was formed in the aforementioned period was prepared by the two or three preceding decades and still prevails in an overt or covert form. It should be noted that during the period there was a military coup (October 12, 1999) and the new military dictator Pervez Musharraf underlined the necessity to revive the economy of the country and to create Muslim democracy. It signified that by suppressing antigovernment extremists the new government favored Political Islamism, covertly supported the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and tribal sovereignty along the Durand Line. An important characteristic of the period was the coalition of the Islamists and the pro-English military elite. The ulama provoked social unrest and civil disobedience while the army usurped the power and enabled radical ulama to acquire high posts in the government. The article analyzes various documents collected by a Pakistani researcher Aalim and dealing with the contemporary political, social, economic, ethnic and confessional situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The article also analyzes bibliographic notes of an American expert S. Power and a Pakistani official Ph. Shotois about the military leaders of Pakistan and the reforms initiated by the Pakistan government in the 20th— early 21st centuries.

scholarly journals The Chilean counter-revolution: Roots, dynamics and legacies of mass mobilisation against the Unidad Popular

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Casals
Keyword(s):  
Previous Experience ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Salvador Allende ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Project ◽  
The Military ◽  
Popular Unity ◽  
The Way

The election of Salvador Allende and the Unidad Popular (Popular Unity) in 1970 unleashed a radical and original revolutionary process, discernible not only in the depth of its redistributive measures and the expectations it generated, but also in the ferocity with which those who identified with the counter-revolutionary ideal responded to that project. The counter-revolution, initially confined to the conservative and reactionary sectors, in a matter of months became an immense mass mobilisation that would end up paving the way for the military coup. This article analyses that counter-revolutionary process, exploring its historic roots, the main actors involved and the innovations in political practices it developed at the time. The ‘counter-revolutionary bloc’ was formed by a diverse array of political and social actors – some of whom did not have previous experience in political mobilisations – who based their actions on the adoption and socialisation of a long-standing anti-Communist script, through which they could make sense of the period’s changing reality. That script – based on decades of taking in events from other parts of the world, elaborations and accusations against all those who identified as Communists – aimed to reduce the originality of the Unidad Popular’s political project to a remake of classic socialist experiences in Chilean territory and processed in a dystopian key. The counter-revolution’s power would be projected into the military dictatorship that began in 1973, when it became a sort of official state ideology, and it would become a foundational experience for Chilean conservative sectors with reverberations even in in the present.

“I'd make thee eat the mischief thou hast vented”: Discourse of Law in Ben Jonson's Catiline His Conspiracy

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-45
Author(s):  
Akihiko Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Gunpowder Plot ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Legal Procedures ◽  
The Way

This essay explores the discourse of law that constitutes the controversial apprehension of Cicero's issuing of the ultimate decree of the Senate (senatus consultum ultimum) in Catiline. The play juxtaposes the struggle of Cicero, whose moral character and legitimacy are at stake in regards to the extra-legal uses of espionage, with the supposedly mischievous Catilinarians who appear to observe legal procedures more carefully throughout their plot. To mitigate this ambivalence, the play defends Cicero's actions by depicting the way in which Cicero establishes the rhetoric of public counsel to convince the citizens of his legitimacy in his unprecedented dealing with Catiline. To understand the contemporaneousness of Catiline, I will explore the way the play integrates the early modern discourses of counsel and the legal maxim of ‘better to suffer an inconvenience than mischief,’ suggesting Jonson's subtle sensibility towards King James's legal reformation which aimed to establish and deploy monarchical authority in the state of emergency (such as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605). The play's climactic trial scene highlights the display of the collected evidence, such as hand-written letters and the testimonies obtained through Cicero's spies, the Allbroges, as proof of Catiline's mischievous character. I argue that the tactical negotiating skills of the virtuous and vicious characters rely heavily on the effective use of rhetoric exemplified by both the political discourse of classical Rome and the legal discourse of Tudor and Jacobean England.

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