Leif-Eric Easley and I have a new article published in the July issue of The Asan Forum. In “Myanmar’s Democratic Backsliding in the Struggle for National Identity and Independence”, we assess Myanmar’s democratization and why the consolidation of democracy has stalled. The key, we argue, lies in Myanmar’s unfinished nation-building and a struggle over whether to define the polity in civic terms or in ethnic terms.

Be sure to check out the other contributions to the Special Forum on Democratization, National Identity, and Foreign Policy in Mongolia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar, with essays by Sophie Lemiere, Ralf Emmers, and Mendee Jargalsaikhan, along with an introduction by Gil Rozman. All articles are freely available on the Asan Forum website.