Myanmar’s Political Transition and Lost Opportunities (2010–2016)

Ye Htut

Format: Print Book

ISBN: 9789814843577

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This book is about the politics of Myanmar under the reformist president Thein Sein. After taking office in March 2011, Thein Sein initiated the bloodless Myanmar Spring. He was able to transform Myanmar into a more transparent and dynamic society, bring Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition activists into the political process, initiate a peace process with the ethnic armed organizations, reintegrate Myanmar into the international community after five decades of isolation, and, most importantly, for the first time since the country regained independence in 1948, he was able to enact the peaceful transfer of power from one elected government to another. But Thein Sein also lost opportunities to deliver what the people anticipated, and he failed to bring his USDP party to victory in the 2015 election.

This book is not about the successes of the Thein Sein administration. Rather, it examines the reasons behind the lost opportunities in the transition to democracy. It draws on the author’s experiences as a member of Thein Sein’s cabinet as well as on extensive interviews with other cabinet members and politicians involved in the crucial events that took place between 2010 and 2016. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in this critical period of change for Myanmar.

U Ye Htut provides an invaluable insider’s account of the workings of the Myanmar government at its highest levels—the personalities and ambitions of its senior figures, their intrigues, feuds, and alliances—during Myanmar's transition to democracy between 2011 and 2016. The account is marked by immense detail but above all by the author’s directness, open-mindedness, and careful judgement. This is essential reading for all those with an interest in Myanmar’s modern politics.

—Ian Brown, Emeritus Professor of the Economic History of South East Asia

Department of History, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

For more than half a century, observers have struggled to overcome the opaqueness of Myanmar’s government and security forces. Here, at long last, is a rare account, in English, of a critical period in Myanmar’s modern history, based on an insider’s intimate knowledge of people and events. As such, it helps fill a major gap in the literature and makes a unique contribution to contemporary Myanmar studies.

—Andrew Selth, Adjunct Professor

Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Australia

Ye Htut has given us a rare peek into the black box of Myanmar’s democratic transition, which anyone interested in Myanmar politics should read.

—Ang Cheng Guan, Associate Dean and Head, Graduate Studies

S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

This book by Ye Htut is a rare, first-hand account of one of the most critical eras in recent Myanmar history: the Thein Sein period, 2011–16. The author refers to it as a time of genuine transition but also missed opportunities. The book provides a unique and in-depth perspective by a well-placed participant of Myanmar’s transition to civilian rule. Once part of the military establishment, Ye Htut became the civilian minister of information during Thein Sein’s tenure. The book is balanced and fair with the kind of detail only someone in the position Ye Htut had could have provided. It is a “must read” for any serious observer of Myanmar's recent history, especially the inner dynamics of its politics, much of which—for better or for worse—remains personal and local, and in some cases, traditional.

—Michael Aung-Thwin, Professor of Asian Studies

University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Format: PB

Number of Pages: 260

Publication Date: 01/10/2019

Imprint: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute