The Political Problems Of Burma

Identity continues to be a major cause for many wars, both within and without a country. History has proven that conflicts within the borders mostly involve people with very little difference between them. Most of civil wars in nations often start as ethnicity feuds and end up to full scale wars. In the chapter, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, Blok argues that it is often the small differences that lead up to prolonged struggles (p115, 2000). Somalia is an example of a nation where majority of its people share the same cultural and religious background but for a third decade now, members

Mary Kaldor theory of ‘new wars’ proposes that because of the many changes the world has gone through since the concept of ‘wars’ was first defined, our understanding of wars is outdated. In the modern world, wars are fought using different methods and tactics than the ones that were at one point the standard. Today, both the state and the non-state actors contribute to wars. Wars were once fought for ideological reasons; modern wars, however, are fought in the name of identity politics. The goal of the ‘new wars’ is to achieve political power and control, whereas, old wars were fought by majorly physical means.

War is easily explained through the lens of social conflict theory, a sociological theory that suggests society tends toward conflict because it is made up of groups with competing interests and unequal resources. The theory proposes that a

This does not mean to exclude those economic and other related institutions, but focuses this dissatisfaction on the political institutions as key to this process. This dissatisfaction is only exacerbated by the government’s inability or unwillingness to engage with this segment of the population in order to resolve the emerging conflict early in its development. Instead, the government ignores or even attempts to repress this expression of dissatisfaction, resulting in allegations of human rights abuses, among other symptoms. This only fuels a greater desire for secession in this marginalized and underrepresented segment(s) of society, as secessionism is seen as the only option available for the group to alleviate the injustices it feels is levied against it. This results in a “balkanization” of ethnic and religious groups as the

In the world today, ideological differences are the root causes of many conflicts between individuals or nations and if allowed to aggravate, it becomes the brush strokes for a canvas that turn out to be the portrait of an all-out warfare. However, before countries engage in militarism, it is prudent that the leadership takes pragmatic steps towards a peaceable resolution because the misconception among architects of conflict is to further private agenda for their personal benefit. In a blind quest for gratification, these benefits are an opportunity cost for the larger society who is the unfortunate recipient of the ensuing anarchy. Nothing is fair in war; casualties caught up within the crossfire

The conflict in Myanmar is best described under a “soft” rational choice/instrumental approach. The conflict in Myanmar has incredible historical context that can specifically be related to Horowitz’s causal mechanisms of conflict. In an article by Donald Horowitz, he explains the “hard” and “soft” approaches to violence. The conflict in Myanmar can be understood using a “soft” approach because it is apparent that Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar “ can be decomposed into the motives of their members, that they are instruments for the pursuit of those motives, and that their actions need to be explained in terms of individual calculations of utility in specific

When the subject of the matter is internal conflicts, identifying key causes of the conflict is difficult when not knowing all the facts. For many other observers, including those from the Government of Indonesia (GOI), the conflict arises due to particular grievances in Acehnese society about economic, human rights, religious and other issues. Acehnese nationalists are apt to downplay grievances and

As the well known American judge William Joseph Brennan Jr. once said, “Religious conflict can be the bloodiest and cruelest conflicts that turn people into fanatics.” They often lead into wars and indefinite massacres. These kind of tensions tend to occur because of a fear that grows inside a country’s majority from a significant increase of another minor ethnic or religious group. That is the case Myanmar or Burma is facing today. According to the CNN journalist Ivan Watson, the conflict is happening between Buddhists, who are estimated to cover 90% of the Myanmar population, and Muslims, who make up about only 4% of the country. The Rohingya, or the Muslim population in Myanmar are considered “one of the most persecuted groups in the world,” as the journalist of Al Jazeera America Usaid Siddiqui stated. They are facing outrageous violence and extreme boycotts against their businesses, forcing them into fleeing their houses. The conflict is standing in front of the country 's development, yet leading into migration crisis.

Based on Karl Marx theory “by controlling social institutions, the elites are able to maintain control and order within society by perpetuating ideologies that justify their unfair and undemocratic position, and, when that fails, the elite, who control police and military forces, can turn to direct physical repression of the masses to maintain their power.” Conflict theorists find that social conflict between groups in which the potential for inequality exists according to racial, gender, religious, political, economic, and family, health, and more. Unequal groups usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another, which makes it easier for Conflict theorists to determine conflict. Conflict theorists uses the following questions to determine group conflict, which are what is going on? Who is involved in conflict, and why? What is the socio-historical origins of the conflict? What is at stake in the conflict? What relations of power and resources of power are present in the

Now looking back in retrospect, it has raised my understanding of the conflict perspective on how it applies to our current society based on power distribution and marginalization. Furthermore, according to the conflict theory, Kendal (2013),

Since ethnicity is closely tied with religious purposes, many groups, particularly terrorist groups, inflict their perspectives upon others for the sake of their religion. They are not interested in power, although such prospects no doubt play a part, nor are they concerned about things like wealth and freedom. Fareed Zakaria explains, in their article “Why do they Hate Us?” that “They don’t blow themselves up to kill thousands of civilians…There is something stronger at work here than deprivation and jealousy. Something that can move men to kill but also to die” (260). More often than naught, ethnic groups harbor ill will towards other ethnicities, while terrorists are more focused on targeting random areas, not particular concerned by whom is targeted, ethnic conflicts have lead to intrastate violence replacing interstate

“Us and Them” by Jerry Muller discusses the pervasive, historical, and growing significance of ethnic nationalism in politics; “Is Ethnic Conflict Inevitable?” contains two responses to Muller’s article by James Habyarimana et. al. and Richard Rosecrance et. al. Muller and his critics reach radically different conclusions the role of ethnic nationalism. Such differences can be explained by their assumptions of ethnic identity formation. The three’s disparities on ethnic conflict result from different theories of identity, namely: Muller to primordialism, Habyarimana to constructivism, and Rosecrance to a rational instrumentalism.

“Strife is the father of all things… Being at variance it agrees with itself: there is a back-stretched connection, as in the bow and the lyre” (Heraclitus,ca. 500 B.C.). Unit one of Four Sociological Traditions by Randall Collins talked about conflict. The term conflict theory was initially created by Karl Marx, but was later developed by other theorist such as Max Weber. Unit one illustrates that the main disagreement is not about conflict existing in society, but that there is an issue when conflict is not openly taking place. When this happens it is a “process of domination” (p.47). The consequence of domination is conflict, which is when people try to proceed in their own interests over others.

Hundreds of years of ethnic violence are dredged up at every meet; everyone thinks theirs is the just cause. From my impartial view there is more than enough blame to go around for all sides” .

Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for