Ethnic and Sub-Ethnic Nationalist Mobilization of Ethnic Citizens in Myanmar

• In Event: Citizenship in the Peripheries: Identities in SE Asia (Mini-Conference 3/3)

Abstract

Peace with ethnic minorities is a condition to Myanmar’s successful transition to democracy and federalism. In Myanmar, scholars have tended to focus on the militant nationalism of the seven main ethnic nationalities (i.e. Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan), some of which have been at war against the central government since independence. Far from homogenous, however, National Races are actually collections of more or less interrelated sub-ethnic groups. Among these sub-ethnic groups, some have particularly assertive nationalist movements contesting both the central state and the ethnic state in which they are located. Some have political parties and are demanding autonomy (e.g. Lisu, Rawang, Kayan, Pa’O), while others have kept lower profiles and are eschewing nationalist mobilization (e.g. Intha, Taungyo). This paper focuses on sub-ethnic groups located in the Kachin, Shan, and Karen states and seeks to explain why some have adopted nationalist agendas while others have not. The paper first examines the role of state institutions and censuses in the politicization and mobilization of sub-ethnic minorities. It then suggests that ethnic nationalist movements and organizations have created exclusions that affect particular groups more intensely, and when doing so, have contributed to the rise of sub-ethnic nationalism.

Author

• Alexandre Pelletier, Cornell University