Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Peace and Conflict in Burma

Taking Stock After a Year of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party in Power

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2017 / Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm 

Center: Asia Center

Read the Event Coverage
Share This
Print the Page

Aung San Suu Kyi’s party came to power in Burma in March 2016 amid high expectations, after an electoral landslide that ushered in the country’s first civilian government in more than 50 years. One year in, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a day of discussions focused on how her National League for Democracy (NLD) handled Burma’s social, economic and political transitions and dealt with violent conflicts and social tensions with ethnic groups in the country’s borderlands. Follow the conversation on Twitter with #USIPBurma.

Updated Agenda

9:00 – 9:30 Opening Remarks

  • Nancy Lindborg, President, USIP
  • Ambassador U Aung Lynn, Embassy of Myanmar

9:30 – 10:45 Panel 1: Burma’s Political and International Affairs

  • Ambassador Derek Mitchell, Senior Advisor, USIP
  • David Steinberg, Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies, Georgetown University
  • Priscilla Clapp, Senior Advisor, USIP
  • Moderator: Andrew Wilder, Vice President, Asia Center, USIP

10:45 – 11:00 Break

11:00 – 12:15 Panel 2: Conflict in the Borderlands

  • Ja Nan Lahtaw, Director, Nyein (Shalom) Foundation
  • Yun Sun, Senior Associate, Stimson Center
  • David Mathieson, Independent Analyst
  • Moderator: Vanessa Johanson, Burma Country Director, USIP

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch and Keynote Remarks: The U.S. Role in Burma’s Transition

  • W. Patrick Murphy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia, U.S. Department of State

13:45 – 15:00 Panel 3: Rakhine, Rohingya, and Intercommunal Violence

  • Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Director, Center for Diversity and National Harmony
  • Steven Ross, Project Manager, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
  • Matthew Walton, Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies, Oxford University (via Skype)
  • Moderator: David Mathieson, Independent Analyst

15.00 – 15.15 Break

15:15 – 16:45 Panel 4: Ways Forward? The Peace Process, Development and Other Challenges

  • U Aung Kyi, Chair, Advisory Committee, Myanmar Peace Commission
  • Paul Grove, Clerk, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Vanessa Johanson, Burma Country Director, USIP
  • Moderator: Priscilla Clapp, Senior Advisor, USIP

16:45 – 17:00 Closing Remarks: Ambassador Derek Mitchell, Senior Advisor, USIP

Related Publications

China Forces Myanmar Scam Syndicates to Move to Thai Border

China Forces Myanmar Scam Syndicates to Move to Thai Border

Monday, April 22, 2024

By: Jason Tower ;   Priscilla A. Clapp

While Myanmar has long been the chief venue for the criminal operations of Chinese-origin gangs in Southeast Asia, these organizations have always stood ready to move — internally or across borders — if their sources of protection dissolved. In recent months, the organized crime kingpins have once again faced a fraying safety net. This time, the cause is the weakening of Myanmar’s corrupt coup regime in the face of a rising, multi-front revolution and, perhaps more importantly, an aggressive push by China’s law enforcement authorities.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Myanmar’s Collapsing Military Creates a Crisis on China’s Border

Myanmar’s Collapsing Military Creates a Crisis on China’s Border

Thursday, April 11, 2024

By: Jason Tower

Operation 1027 — an offensive launched in October 2023 by an alliance of three ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) against the military junta in Myanmar — has disrupted hundreds of forced labor scam syndicates operating under the protection of Myanmar’s army, dented the army’s image of invincibility and decimated the lucrative China-Myanmar border trade. A second operation launched on March 7 by another EAO in Kachin State has compounded China’s economic woes by adding to the impact on trade.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

How a Fractured Myanmar is Navigating U.S.-China Rivalry

How a Fractured Myanmar is Navigating U.S.-China Rivalry

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

By: Phyu Hnin

As the rivalry between the United States and China intensifies, Southeast Asian countries have been forced to navigate this growing power competition. The challenge has proven formidable even for those with strong governance and stability. For Myanmar — where a civil conflict between the ruling military junta and a loose alliance of resistance groups recently entered its fourth year — developing a cohesive approach to navigating U.S.-China competition might seem unattainable and unimportant in the current moment.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Global Policy

Myanmar: New Data Show Wide Support for Unity Government

Myanmar: New Data Show Wide Support for Unity Government

Thursday, February 29, 2024

By: Jangai Jap, Ph.D. ;   Amy H. Liu, Ph.D.

The three-month offensive by Myanmar’s alliance of disparate ethnic armed groups has weakened the military regime more than at any time since it seized power three years ago. This highlights a question for international policymakers: Could the anti-coup forces stabilize Myanmar? New public opinion data bolsters evidence that the National Unity Government (NUG) — which combines representatives elected in the 2020 election and ethnic minority leaders — has a solid basis to lead such an effort, holding strong popular support across Myanmar’s numerous ethnic groups. Such stabilization will depend on the NUG’s ability to deepen its inclusivity and responsiveness and broaden its political coalition.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

View All Publications