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United States Institute of Peace

Ye Myo Hein

Visiting Senior Expert

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Ye Myo Hein is a visiting senior expert for the Myanmar program at USIP. At USIP, Ye Myo Hein provides strategic guidance to numerous programs and writes extensively about the conflict in Myanmar. He is a leading analyst on the conflict, focusing primarily on military strategy, military balance of power and war trajectories.

He is also a global fellow for the Asia program at the Wilson Center. Prior to USIP, Ye Myo Hein founded and served as executive director at the Tagaung Institute of Political Studies, one of Myanmar’s pre-eminent think tanks and policy research institutes. He is a leading expert on the Myanmar military and a specialist in security sector governance, having served as an technical advisor and delegate to the Myanmar peace process. Ye Myo Hein also co-founded the Yangon School of Political Science and the Burma Studies Center.

Ye Myo Hein has written several major reports on the Myanmar military and peace process, as well dozens of analytical articles for domestic and international news outlets, including The New York Times, The Diplomat, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy.

Publications By Myo Hein

The Myanmar Military’s Institutional Resilience

The Myanmar Military’s Institutional Resilience

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein;  Billy Ford

The Myanmar military has endured historic losses over the past three years, leaving it in the weakest state in its history. While there are few paths to recovery — and mounting challenges to its stranglehold on power — the military has managed to stay afloat so far in the face of an expanding revolution against its rule. What are the factors threatening its viability? And what is holding it together? While there is no single explanation, a critical factor is its culture of internal loyalty cultivated over decades of military rule.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Myanmar’s Resistance Is Making Major Advances

Myanmar’s Resistance Is Making Major Advances

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein

The resistance’s capture of the northern city of Lashio on August 3 marks a watershed moment in Myanmar’s conflict. After a month of fierce fighting, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and allied resistance forces captured this crucial stronghold in northern Shan State, dealing a severe blow to the beleaguered junta. This represents more than just the loss of a major city. It is the first time that a military regional command has been captured by resistance forces.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Nine Things to Know About Myanmar’s Conflict Three Years On

Nine Things to Know About Myanmar’s Conflict Three Years On

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein

On March 28, 2021, barely two months after the February 1 coup in Myanmar, a minor skirmish erupted at the Tarhan protest in Kalay township in central Sagaing region as demonstrators took up makeshift weapons to defend themselves against ruthless assaults by the junta’s security forces. This was the first recorded instance of civilian armed resistance to the military’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters since the February 1 coup d’état.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Myanmar’s Fateful Conscription Law

Myanmar’s Fateful Conscription Law

Monday, February 26, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein

Earlier this month, Myanmar’s ruling junta enacted a compulsory conscription law that had been dormant since 2010. General Guan Maw, a leader of the Kachin Independence Organization, greeted the junta's decision by comparing it to the 2021 military coup: "If February 1, 2021, was the beginning of the end, the law enforced on February 10, 2024, can be said to mark the end of the end.” As popular reactions to the new conscription plan roll out across the country, General Guan Maw’s pronouncement becomes increasingly prescient.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Is Myanmar’s Junta Turning a Corner?

Is Myanmar’s Junta Turning a Corner?

Thursday, August 10, 2023

By: Priscilla A. Clapp;  Ye Myo Hein

Are conciliatory winds stirring among the leaders of Myanmar’s coup regime, or is the junta engaging in deception and distraction as it struggles on the battlefield against a broad range of resistance forces? The answer is almost certainly the latter. It would not be the first time the ruling generals have sought to stimulate international interest in promoting dialogue solely to enhance their legitimacy abroad.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

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