Projects per year
Abstract
Regime change often exacerbates ethnic conflict. This article examines the curious case of Myanmar, where a 2021 military coup was met, on the surface, with broad-based resistance across a divided society. An important question that therefore arises is whether, below the surface, this unity also took a more positive form of national solidarity. Were deep ethnic cleavages intensified or alleviated by the 2021 coup? This question bears theoretical relevance for the study of ethnic conflict and has social relevance for a nation marked by a long history of civil war and a recent experience of genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The article engages in a systematic examination of 180 social media posts uploaded in Burmese by key opinion leaders both before and after the coup. A qualitative analysis of major positive and negative themes indicates a shift in attitudes. The quantitative analysis shows that ethnic relations, measured by a change in themes, ratings and virality, improved significantly in the immediate aftermath of Myanmar's 2021 coup.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 89-104 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Japanese Journal of Political Science |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 16 May 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Funding
The authors are grateful for incisive and constructive reviewer feedback. They acknowledge Hong Kong Research Grants Council funding (project number LU340613), which fed into this project.
Keywords
- Ethnic minorities
- ethnic relations
- military coup
- Myanmar
- nationalism
- Rohingya
- social media
- Key words Ethnic minorities
Fingerprint
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- 1 Finished
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Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in Myanmar (緬甸過渡時期的轉型正義與民族和解)
DAVID, R. (PI) & HOLLIDAY, I. M. (CoI)
Research Grants Council (HKSAR)
1/01/14 → 31/12/15
Project: Grant Research