Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments Notes Maps Statistical Profile State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Glossary Introduction 1. Setting the Stage: The Crisis of 1988 and Its Origins The Coup of September 18, 1988The Origins of the People's RevolutionNe Win-From Sun King to Cardinal Richelieu?The Inherited Economic MiasmaThe Military as CaretakersThe Military as SocialistsInternational Reactions to a Reclusive State 2. The Social and Political Backdrop to the Crisis: Myanmar's Modern Heritage Unrealized PotentialTransformational Events and the MilitaryState and Society in BurmaThe Culture of PowerThe Power of Culture 3. The Military and the Aftermath of the CoupMilitary Perception and RolesNational Security ConceptsThe Development of Dual Societies: Military and CivilianDefense SpendingThe Role and Rule of LawPolitical and Human Rights 4. Mass Mobilization, Civil Society, and Orthodoxy Mass Mobilization in BurmaCivil Society and Its DestructionNGOs in Burma/Myanmar 5. Economic Changes: Progress and Regression The Economic MaelstromPatterns fo Economic ChangeThe Future of the Burmese Economy: Problems and ProspectsAppendix A Selected Targets fo the Five-Year Plan (1996/97?-2001)Appendix B 1999 World Bank Economic and Social Assessment Summary 6. Multiethnicity and the Burmese StateAppendix A Linguistic Groups of Burma/MyanmarAppendix B Ethnically Related Rebel Groups in Burma, 1983-84Appendix C Ethnic Cease-Fires as of July 1998Appendix D Forces in Revolt (July 1998) 7. The Politics of Social Issues PovertyThe Destruction of the Educational SystemHealthThe Status of WomenNarcotics and the Economy 8. Foreign Affairs: Myanmar as Regional Nexus The China FactorThe ASEAN IssueThe United States and the Issue of SanctionsMigration and Refugees 9. Foreign Assistance: Tensions and Needs The Japanese Assistance ProgramThe U.S> Economic Aid ProgramMultilateral and Other DonorsThe Future Role of Donors in MyanmarAppendix A Japanese Aid ProjectsAppendix B Japanese Economic Assistance to Burma: Loans, Grants, ReparationsAppendix C U.S. Assistance Program Fiscal Obligations as of August 15, 1967Appendix D Summary of Actual and Committed U.S. Assistance to Burma, 1950-66Appendix E Official Development Assistance to Myanmar 1989-97Appendix F The World Bank, Myanmar: Loans/Credit Summary 10. Conclusion: Burma/Myanmar-Its Future and the Dilemmas of Foreign PolicyDilemmas and Current ConditionsAssumptions and ConstraintsThe Changed International MilieuFuture ProspectsConclusion Appendix I Economic Reform in Burma: Problems and Priority Needs. 1988Further ReadingPostscriptAbout the AuthorIndex

Promotional Information

[Combines] excellent analysis with insight and sympathetic understanding to produce a compelling picture of the dismal Burmese scene and why both Burmese and foreigners have such difficulty trying to change it. -- Morton Abramowitz, former Assistant Secretary of State and Senior Fellow, Century Foundation One of our foremost experts on Burma/Myanmar has produced an in-depth analysis of this reclusive state, interweaving the past and the present. Steinberg's work will be extremely valuable to those interested in modern Asia. -- Robert A. Scalapino, University of California, Berkeley Steinberg has written the perfect kind of book for a new public policy debate about Myanmar. It is based on four decades of study and solid objective analysis. Fair minded and informative. -- Ezra Vogel, Harvard University

About the Author

David I. Steinberg is the director of Asian studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a senior consultant to the Asia Foundation. He is the author of ten books, including The Future of Burma: Crisis and Choice in Myanmar (1990).

Reviews

Illuminate[s] every nook and cranny of a country that has been trying to hide from the world. Foreign Affairs Well-written and easily digested. Pacific Affairs This serious analysis should not be ignored. Choice