BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

BETWEEN ‘STRATOCRACY’ AND ‘MORAL DEMOCRACY’: AN APPRAISAL OF MYANMAR’S POLITICAL TRANSITION UNDER SUU KYI

Author: Abu Salah Md. Yousuf

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2020v41n3a2

ABSTRACT

Leaving colonial past, Myanmar started its journey as a democratic, secular, multi-religious and multi-cultural state in 1948. Initially it adopted western right based democratic principles in its constitution. However, when political leaders failed to resolve post-colonial socio-political and economic problems of the country, military echelons took control of the political space of Myanmar. Thereafter, uninterrupted military rule from 1962 to 2010 established a deep rooted ‘stratocracy’, where the military unanimously dominated social, political and economic institutions of the country. On the other hand, democratic forces were also reinvigorating their movements against military rule. After the 1988 uprising, Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as an iconic leader and united all sections of the society including students, monks and ethnic minorities with a vision of resurrecting democratic rule in the country. A western educated Suu Kyi was a supporter of ‘right based democracy’. But, to accommodate all sections of the society, she developed an indigenous idea of democracy, which is known as ‘moral democracy’. Therefore, the accession of Suu Kyi in the state power in 2016 raised new hope that she would challenge the longstanding ‘stratocracy’ in Myanmar and establish a ‘moral democracy’. In this backdrop, this paper is an endeavour to understand how far Suu Kyi is successful to break the shackles of six decades long military rule in Myanmar and what achievements she has made to accomplish the principles of ‘moral democracy’ in her country. The paper finds that Suu Kyi has achieved very little for moral democracy and in some issues her compromise with military raised questions about her commitment towards people of Myanmar. But still she is the best hope for democratic forces of the country. On the other hand, the military still needs her to defend themselves from the western criticism and to invite more investment in the country.