Overview

Burma remains a land in deep crisis. The popular uprising of 1988 swept away 26 years of military rule under General Ne Win in name only. The National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in the 1990 election. But, as this book relates, the military remained in control and the future of Burma looks more problematic than ever. With unparalleled command of largely inaccessible Burmese sources and interviews with many of the leading participants, Martin Smith charts the rise of modern political parties and unravels the complexities of the long-running insurgencies waged by opposition groups, including the Communist Party of Burma, the Karen National Union and a host of other ethnic nationalist movements. It is essential reading for those interested in the conditions giving rise to guerrilla warfare, the character of national liberation movements, and the impact of ethnicity on political conflict.

Full Product Details

Author:   Martin Smith
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Zed Books Ltd
Edition:   2nd edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 15.60cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.820kg
ISBN:  

9781856496605

ISBN 10:   1856496600
Pages:   544
Publication Date:   15 June 1999
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Part I: The Roots of Conflict 1. The Burmese Way to Stagnation and the Crisis of 1988 2. The Peoples of Burma: A Historic and Ethnic Background 3. Order Without Meaning: British Rule and the Rise of the National Liberation Movement 4. War and Independence: 1942-48 5. Insurgency as a Way of Life Part II Insurrections in the Parliamentary Era 6. The Final Seizure of Power: A Country Goes Underground 7. Failure, Retrenchment and the United Fronts: The Communist Movement 1948-52 8. The Battle for Kawthoolei: The Spread of Ethnic Rebellion 9. Revisionism and the 1955 Line: The Prospect of Peace 10. The Collapse of Parliamentary Democracy: Ne Win Seizes Power Part III Insurrections in the Ne Win era 11. Military Rule and Peace Parley 12. Cultural Revolution 13. The North-East Command and the Four Cuts 14. The Failure of U Nu's Parliamentary Democracy Party, Keren Unity and Emergence of the National Democratic Front 15. The War in the North, Opium and the 1980/1 Peace Parley 16. The Nationalities Question Part IV: The 1980s: A Decade of Upheaval 17. The Democracy Upbringing and the CPB 18. The 1989 CPB Mutinies: The End of the road? 19. The War Goes On: The NDF and the KNU 20. A New Cycle of Conflict?: The 1990 General Election and the DAB Part V Burma at the Century's End 21. The 1990s: Deadlock or the Dawning of New Realities?

Reviews

&#8220;This book is indispensable for Burma&#8217;s future leaders... It must be considered, to date, the definitive work on what is indeed the central problem in Burma.&#8221; &#8212; Pacific Affairs <br>&#8220;We are all in debt to Smith for having added to our limited understanding of the people and policies of Burma.&#8221; &#8212; Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group <br>

This book is indispensable for Burma' s future leaders... It must be considered, to date, the definitive work on what is indeed the central problem in Burma. -- Pacific Affairs <br> We are all in debt to Smith for having added to our limited understanding of the people and policies of Burma. -- Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group <br>

For an understanding of Burma’s prolonged, continuing and largely unknown crisis no better work is available than this detailed, well-written and informative book. * Choice * Reportage at its best: expansive in concept, detailed in execution, passionate in its search for truth. An exceptional book. * Current History * Smith’s book fills a void in Burma studies which will make it the basic reference work for years to come. * Far Eastern Economic Review * A masterful documentary history. * Journal of Asian Studies * The definitive work on what is indeed the central problem in Burma. * Pacific Affairs * An extremely detailed and well-organized look at the country’s civil war. * Times Literary Supplement * Outstanding. Smith has woven a seamless narrative which interrelates the modern history of the heartland with the hills and finally makes sense of the complex history of the country. He has set a new standard in field research. * Josef Silverstein, Rutgers University * Smith’s book, with its mass of original information on the post-independence history of the country’s regional and ethnic movements, is a landmark. * Peter Carey, Oxford University *

For an understanding of Burma's prolonged, continuing and largely unknown crisis no better work is available than this detailed, well-written and informative book. * Choice * Reportage at its best: expansive in concept, detailed in execution, passionate in its search for truth. An exceptional book. * Current History * Smith's book fills a void in Burma studies which will make it the basic reference work for years to come. * Far Eastern Economic Review * A masterful documentary history. * Journal of Asian Studies * The definitive work on what is indeed the central problem in Burma. * Pacific Affairs * An extremely detailed and well-organized look at the country's civil war. * Times Literary Supplement * Outstanding. Smith has woven a seamless narrative which interrelates the modern history of the heartland with the hills and finally makes sense of the complex history of the country. He has set a new standard in field research. * Josef Silverstein, Rutgers University * Smith's book, with its mass of original information on the post-independence history of the country's regional and ethnic movements, is a landmark. * Peter Carey, Oxford University *

Author Information

Martin Smith is a leading authority on Burmese politics. He has researched for two decades, reported extensively and made several TV documentaries on Burma.

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