Ethnic Conflict and Economic Cooperation in the Borderlands: Burma, Thailand, and the Karen
-
2018-10-07 https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.15.21448 -
Thailand, Burma, economic cooperation, ethnicity. -
Abstract
Since 1949, the Karen ethnic minority has been engaged in an armed uprising against the Burmese government, and this uprising has defined Thai-Burmese border relations. Despite its length and impact, this conflict is easily overlooked, and has been willfully ignored by Thailand, Burma, and the international community in the optimism surrounding the start of the ASEAN Economic Community. Documentary research and interviews with participants in the conflict demonstrate that the Karen, and the armed nonstate groups which represent them, maintain the ability to end any sustained cross-border cooperation between Thailand and Burma. As such, a resolution to the conflict is necessary if the ASEAN Economic Community, and the various other projects that Thailand and Burma have envisioned for the border region, is to succeed.
Â
Â
-
References
[1] Association of Southeast Asian Nations (1976). Treaty of amity and cooperation in Southeast Asia.Retrievedfrom http://www.asean.org/news/item/treaty-of-amity-and-cooperation-in-southeast-asia-indonesia-24-february-1976-3
[2] (2008). ASEAN economic community blueprint. Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat.
[3] BBC (2012). Burma government signs ceasefire with Karen rebels. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16523691
[4] Burma Ethnic Research Group (1998). Forgotten victims of a hidden war: Internally displaced Karen in Burma. Chiang Mai: Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
[5] Cady, John F (1965). A history of modern Burma. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
[6] Ferguson, Jane M (2010). Sovereignty in Shan State. In Nick Cheesman, Monique Skidmore, & Trevor Wilson (Ed.), Ruling Myanmar: From Cyclone Nargis to national elections (pp. 52-62). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
[7] Fong, Jack (2008). Revolution as development: The Karen self-determination struggle against ethnocracy. Boca Raton: Universal Publishers.
[8] Hall, D.G.E. (1981). A history of Southeast Asia. London: Macmillan.
[9] Keely, Charles B (1996). How nations create and respond to refugee flows. International Migration Review, 30, 1046-66.
[10] Keyes, Charles (1979). Ethnic adaptation and identity: The Karen on the Thai frontier with Burma. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues.
[11] Lang, Hazel (2002). Fear and sanctuary: Burmese refugees in Thailand. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
[12] Lieberman, Victor (1978). Ethnic politics in eighteenth-century Burma. Modern Asian Studies, 12, 455-82.
[13] Moe, Wai (2009, August 28). Junta renews 'divide-and-rule' tactic in Shan State. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved from http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16662
[14] Po, San C (1928). Burma and the Karens. London: Elliot Stock.
[15] Oo, Soe Sandar (2013, February 11). Mae Sot SEZ could benefit local workers. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/4064-mae-sot-sez-could-benefit-local-workers.html
[16] Race, Jeffrey (1974). The war in northern Thailand. Modern Asian Studies, 8, 85-112.
[17] Racha Aribarg (2005). Thai border businessmen and the state: An examination of their influence on Thai foreign policy toward Burma (Doctoral dissertation). Boston University.
[18] Sahu, P. K. (2013). Research Methodology : A Guide for Researchers in Agricultural Science , Social Science and Other Related Fields.
[19] Scott, James C (2009). The art of not being governed: An anarchist history of upland Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[20] Smith, Martin (1999). Burma: Insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. Bangkok: White Lotus Press.
[21] South, Ashley (2007). Karen nationalist communities: The “problem†of diversity. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 29(1), 55-76.
[22] United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database. Democratic Karen Benevolent Army. Retrieved from http://unterm.un.org/DGAACS/unterm.nsf/9e5ae0c797a18233852576260073915a/a0643d14bb71870985257b7a0064ac4e?OpenDocument
[23] The Government Public Relations Department (PRD) (2015). Special economic zones. Retrieved from http://www.thaigov.go.th/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=92580:92580&Itemid=417&lang=en
[24] Thawnghmung, Ardeth Maung (2008). The Karen revolution in Buma: Diverse voices, uncertain ends. Singapore: East-West Center.
[25] Vité, S. (2009). Typology of armed conflicts in international humanitarian law: legal concepts and actual situations | International Committee of the Red Cross, 91(873). Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/en/international-review/article/typology-armed-conflicts-international-humanitarian-law-legal-concepts (accessed May 2018)
[26] Walton, Matthew J (2008). Ethnicity, conflict, and history in Burma: The myths of Panglong. Asian Survey 38, 889-910.
[27] Weng, Lawi (2010, April 29). Rift between junta and DKBA deepens. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved from http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18345
[28] (2014, October 31). KNU agrees to talk Unified Karen Army by 2014. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved from http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/knu-agrees-talk-unified-karen-army-2015.html
[29] (2015, June 12). A taxing trip in Karen State. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved from http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/a-taxing-trip-in-karen-state.html
[30] Zolberg, Aristide R (1983). The formation of new states as a refugee generating process. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 467, 24-38.
[31] Zwartz, Henry & Mort, Saw (2013, March 17). Boorder boomtown: A tale of winners and losers. Karen News. Retrieved from http://karennews.org/2013/03/border-boomtown-a-tale-of-winners-and-losers.html/
-
Downloads
-
How to Cite
Siriyanun, S., & Tipparat Bubpasiri, D. (2018). Ethnic Conflict and Economic Cooperation in the Borderlands: Burma, Thailand, and the Karen. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.15), 209-212. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.15.21448Received date: 2018-10-09
Accepted date: 2018-10-09
Published date: 2018-10-07