Democratization in Burma/Myanmar

Abstract

Burma/Myanmar held its first elections in 2010, twenty years after the last controversial elections in 1990. Democratic political institutions were absent since 1962 when the parliamentary government was dissolved as a result of the military coup led by General Ne Win. The nation never had the opportunity to practice a stable, democratic government system since its independence. However, recent elections, regardless of the military influence, was seen by the people, as well as the international community as the nation taking its first step towards change. Since Burma/Myanmar is a developing country with complex internal ethnic issues, learning from the experiences of nearby countries would be beneficial for its future. Therefore, factors contributing to the democratization process in developing countries were used to analyze the transition process of India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Based on their experiences, the same factors were applied to Burma/Myanmar in order to establish the conditions required for a successful transition.