On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military leadership organized a coup to remove the democratically elected civilian government — detaining civilian government leaders and reversing the previous decade’s progress on democratic governance, economic development, social welfare, civil rights and fundamental freedoms.

Immediately after the coup, communities across the country responded with nonviolent protests — and a nationwide movement of civil disobedience emerged. But in the face of the military’s violent crackdown on peaceful protests, the anti-coup movement also began to employ violence through open armed conflict and asymmetric warfare. Today’s crisis in Myanmar poses a major challenge to U.S. foreign policy in a region of geopolitical significance. The Myanmar Study Group report provides an assessment of the conflict and lays out recommendations for the U.S. response.