Security settlements in Myanmar’s borderlands: Legal and illicit trades, wars and ceasefires

Presented by ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

This event is part of the 2022 Myanmar Research Centre (MRC) Dialogue Series.

Security Settlements in Myanmar's Borderlands: Legal and illicit trades, wars and ceasefires

Recent research led by The Asia Foundation has explored conflict dynamics in Kachin and Shan States of Myanmar, building on local fieldwork to generate a wider assessment of patterns of legal and illicit trade, war and ceasefires, under what can be termed 'security settlements'. The research, part of a wider initiative to build evidence on cross-border conflict in Myanmar and elsewhere, identifies the malleable yet enduring conditions generated by repressive policies and the Tatmadaw's use of proxy militia and informal agreements, and considers policy implications following the military takeover of February 2021.

Speaker

Dr Adam Burke is The Asia Foundation's director of Conflict and Fragility. He is a specialist in conflict, peacebuilding, and development with over twenty years of practical and research experience working primarily across Southeast and South Asia, and intensively in Myanmar since 2013. As Director of Conflict and Fragility at The Asia Foundation, Adam leads The Asia Foundation's conflict programming and oversees technical support. Before joining The Asia Foundation, Adam worked in the conflict prevention and peacebuilding fields for a range of international organizations. His research, writing, and technical guidance has underlined the importance of understanding and responding to specific political contexts. In 2005-6, he supported the successful peace process in Asia, Indonesia. His doctoral research, at SOAS, University of London, explored development tensions in Thailand's conflict-affected Far South.

Chair

Tony Neil, Visiting Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, ANU

Venue

The dialogues in the series will be held in hybrid mode, ie in-person on the ANU Campus, and virtually on zoom.

In-person: PSC Reading Room, Level 4, Hedley Bull Building #130, Cnr Garran Rd and Liversidge Street, ANU, Acton, 2600 ACT
Online: Zoom. Once you register here, you will receive access to the online event page in Eventbrite where you will find the join link for the zoom meeting. Please select the relevant ticket, in-person or online, according to your preferred attendance mode.

We look forward to seeing you there.

For more information on the MRC 2022 Dialogue Series please see the MRC website https://myanmar.anu.edu.au/ or contact the Convenors