Myanmar

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Reducing Hospital Prices, Vaccinating the Most Active, Myanmar: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on regulating hospital prices to cut spending, a COVID-19 vaccine strategy that prioritizes "active" people, what the Capitol attack means for security clearances, and more.

commentary

Myanmar's Coup and Its Recent Elections: Institutions Matter

What was the Myanmar military's calculus in deciding to stage a coup against the government? The history of coups and elections provides some insights.

Sean M. Zeigler

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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, COVID-19 Variants, Myanmar: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on alternatives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, how couples can sleep better during the pandemic, and more.

commentary

Myanmar Coup: First Foreign Policy Test for President Biden

Shortly after dawn on February 1, Myanmar's military staged a coup against the nation's fledgling civilian government. There are no easy solutions, and how the Biden administration responds will be widely seen as a template for other thorny situations in the future.

Jonah Blank

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Expanding the ISIS Brand

Since its founding, the Islamic State has consistently expanded and contracted in order to achieve its objectives. To discern how ISIS might continue to expand, it makes sense to trace Al Qaeda's trajectory, which followed a similar pattern in the 2000s.

Colin P. Clarke

commentary

How the U.S. Can Help Resolve the Rohingya Crisis

By accepting responsibility for reintegrating the Rohingya refugees, Myanmar has provided an opening to prevent an epic tragedy. Will the United States and the international community take advantage of it?

Jonah Blank, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson

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Aung San Suu Kyi's Trip to China: Sino-Myanmar Relations as the Countdown to the November Elections Begins

For Aung San Suu Kyi and the rest of the National League for Democracy (NLD) delegation, meeting with Chinese leadership provided a forum for bilateral engagement with one of Myanmar's most important neighbors in the region, relations that will expand given the NLD's likely success at the polls in November.

Cristina L. Garafola @CLGarafola

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Myanmar's Slow Path to Democracy

The U.S. and its allies must act decisively and provide a strong foundation for Myanmar's long-term transformation. A failure to carefully guide the country's successful transition to a civilian rule would be a missed opportunity for the Obama administration and, more important, for Myanmar's 51 million citizens.

Peter Chalk

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Who's Bombing Myanmar?

After a half-century of hermetic authoritarianism, Myanmar's re-entry into the world community has been one of the biggest (and most optimistic) stories in Asia. Yet an upswing in ethnic and religious conflict could put Myanmar's progress at risk.

Jonah Blank

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U.S. Sanctions Against Myanmar Need to Go

Washington now has to ask itself whether its goals can best be met with these restrictions in place or whether it is time to recognize the fundamental changes that are taking place in Myanmar and forge a new relationship with its leaders based on full government-to-government relations, writes Peter Chalk.

Peter Chalk

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Obama's Burmese Gamble

A year ago, the United States and Myanmar (Burma) did not even have ambassadors in each other's capitals. In May, President Thein Sein became the first leader from Myanmar to visit the White House in nearly a half-century. Has Obama's administration been too quick to embrace what was one of the world's most repressive regimes?

Jonah Blank

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Obama and Myanmar (Burma): Four Points About Conflict There

We can expect to see continued jockeying for scarce resources among vulnerable populations around the globe, attempts by majority communities to disenfranchise powerless minority groups, and episodes of extreme weather to blow away any notion that disasters—whether natural, man-made, or both—can't happen here, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

Obama Trip Could Be Bellwether for U.S.-Asia Relations

Specific areas of focus for President Obama's visit are likely to include expanding trade and investment opportunities for U.S. businesses in Southeast Asia, increasing defense cooperation with Thailand, and offers of disaster recovery assistance to Burma in the wake of its recent earthquake, writes Scott Harold.

Scott W. Harold

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China's Responsibility to Protect

Of all countries remiss in their responsibility to protect human rights, China bears special scrutiny because of its influence with the Myanmar and Sudanese regimes, writes David C. Gompert.

David C. Gompert

commentary

Be Tougher on Burma Than China

commentaries by RAND Staff: insightful commentaries on current events, published in newspapers, magazines and journals worldwide.

William H. Overholt