Winning by Process by Jacques Bertrand & Alexandre Pelletier & Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung

Author:Jacques Bertrand & Alexandre Pelletier & Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

Outflanking and the Erosion of De Facto Autonomy

The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and political dialogue occurred against the backdrop of decades of informal arrangements that gave some ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) a certain measure of territorial control and autonomy. Ceasefires in the late 1980s and 1990s allowed EAOs to exercise varying degrees of de facto autonomy, most often through informal agreements with the state. Some even developed fairly extensive services for their local populations, particularly in the educational and health care sectors. Yet, ironically, although the nationwide ceasefire and political dialogue were more institutionalized and promised greater formal autonomy if conclusive, the uncertainty of the transitional phase opened up opportunities for the state to erode past autonomy.

The NCA locked in an agreement that the Tatmadaw and EAOs would not specify demarcation lines. EAOs had accepted this condition to secure an agreement, as they feared the consequences of failure. The Tatmadaw saw an opportunity to undermine the EAOs by expanding the state’s reach into ethnic minority territories and avoid reproducing the kind of de facto autonomy it had conceded to the Wa.

The Myanmar state was subsequently able to fulfill on its own terms the local ethnic population’s demand for development, social services, and education. The lack of specified territories in the ceasefire agreements and the absence of interim arrangements for local governance facilitated this process. By doing so, it sought to outflank the EAOs. It could erode the services that the EAOs had provided and gradually replace them, thereby contributing to reducing their legitimacy in the eyes of ethnic minority groups. The peace process allowed the state to expand its reach into territory previously at war and seize control over several jurisdictional areas. The longer the indeterminacy of the interim period and the absence of a final political agreement, the more the state gained significant ability to outflank grassroots ethnic organizations. This chapter illustrates this trend by briefly examining three strategic policy areas: education, health care, and land management.

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