Study On Ethnic Integration In Myanmar Under The NLD Government

Composed under the background of the political transformation of Myanmar led by the NLD(National League for Democracy),this thesis is to make a thorough and systematic analysis of the ethnic integration since the N LD came into power by theories of ethnic-politics.It also gives a full picture of the current situation,challenges,influencing factors,trends and Sino-Myanmar relations in this round of ethnic integration in Myanmar.This thesis contains three parts,including the the introduction,the body part and the conclusion.The introduction explains the origin and significance of the research,research methods and innovations.The first chapter mainly expounds on the historical process of the ethnic integration in Myanmar before the NLD came into power and the main problems of the current ethnic integration in Myanmar.Firstly,it defines the definition and mode of the ethnic integration,which lays a solid theoretical foundation for exploring the issue of the ethnic integration in Myanmar under the leadership of the NLD.Then it reviews the ethnic integration policies of U Nu government,Ne Win government,the New Military Government and the Thein Sein government.The U N u government and the Ne Win government mainly adopted the “homogenization” governance mode.They carried out strengthened centralization,political integration and nationalized Buddhism,and continuously deprived ethnic minorities of their ethnic rights,leading to the strong opposition of the ethnic minorities.As a result,ethnic minorities set up their own armed forces against the central government,and the construction of the ethnic state Myanmar fell into a predicament.During the period of the New Military administration and the Thein Sein administration,the way of integration tended to be moderate,which laid a certain foundation for the ethnic integration in the period of the NLD government.With the interaction between each government and ethnic minorities in Myanmar,the ethnic problems are constantly fermenting.The main problems Myanmar facing now in the ethnic integration are the weak sense of national identity of Myanmar ethnic minorities,the long-standing existence of ethnic armed forces,and the problem of the Rohingya.The second chapter mainly discusses the measures and characteristics of the ethnic integration under the leadership of the NLD.On the basis of the ethnic integration under the previous governments,the NLD government in Myanmar stands at a new historical point.It is an arduous task for the NLD government to continually promote the development of the ethnic integration.Aung San Suu K yi's inheritance of her father,General Aung San's “Panglong Spirit”,the NLD's comprehensive and inclusive attitude towards ethnic reconciliation,the NLD's determination to make ethnic reconciliation its primary task,and the “ethnic armed groups” positive response to the ethnic reconciliation policy of the NLD's new government,have created new opportunities for Myanmar to achieve ethnic reconciliation.Since in power for more than two years,the NLD government has made great efforts to promote the ethnic integration.At the same time,all other parties also have high expectations for it,however the effect is actually limited.Generally speaking,the ethnic integration under the NLD government presents some new features,such as the duality of the integration subject,the diversification of the integration orientation,and the bidirectionalization of the integration path.The third chapter mainly analyzes the favorable conditions and constraints faced by the NLD to promote the ethnic integration under its administration.This part is to find out the key variables affecting the ethnic integration through analysis of politics,economy,culture,international impact,and so on.Politically speaking,democratic reform has a dual impact on the ethnic integration.Democracy is conducive to the elimination of contradictions and estrangements among ethnic groups in Myanmar,but too fast democratic reform is easy to trigger the outbreak of ethnic contradictions.In the long run,democratization is a powerful tool to promote the ethnic integration and to promote the rights equality of all ethnic groups,but in the process of democratization,the power will probably be weaken to cause turbulence.The loose core of power in Myanmar obstruct ethnic integration.In the democratic society of Myanmar's pluralistic competition,the game of political power is the core content of ethnic political relations.There are many relatively autonomous organizations in the political system,such as the government,the military,armed forces in ethnic minority areas,parties and religious groups.Under the weak leadership of the NLD government,the military and ethnic armed groups take advantage of their position to pursue the maximum of their own interests without regard to the public interests,and even weaken or destroy democracy itself.Economically,after the N LD came into power,it made great efforts to create a free and fair environment for economic development and made adjustment on economy.However,Myanmar has not yet been able to break the tangled economic barriers.Seizing control of resources has become one of the main reasons for the struggle among military,the government,and the ethnic armed groups.In addition,historical and realistic factors have led to the long-term division of Myanmar's ethnic groups,and great worries about the internal division of the country have been deeply embedded in Myanmar's culture.The lack of mutual trust among all ethnic groups in Myanmar will bring great obstacles to ethnic integration.As for the influence of great powers,the United States,Japan,the European Union and other extraterritorial forces have increasingly drawn in and penetrated the region.They have taken the export of “democracy” as a means and the ethnic reconciliation affairs of Myanmar as a springboard to interfere in Myanmar's affairs.China and ASEAN also pay special attention to the process of the ethnic integration in Myanmar.However,the main purpose of the Western intervention in the issue of ethnic reconciliation in Myanmar is to expand its influence in Myanmar and try to internationalize and complicate the issue,so as to weaken C hina's influence in Myanmar.China and ASEAN expect that the ethnic integration of Myanmar can be smoothly promoted,so that Myanmar can effectively promote the region security as a united peaceful and stable nation with multi-ethnic equality.The fourth chapter mainly analyzes the trend of the ethnic integration in Myanmar under the leadership of the NLD and its impact on the construction of democracy.Under the comprehensive influence of the above factors,the trend of the ethnic integration in Myanmar is as follows: the current situation is still immature in resolving all aspects of the ethnic problem in Myanmar.The profound changes in the situation in and outside Myanmar in recent years have made the issue more complicated and intertwined with Myanmar's internal affairs,diplomacy,geopolitics and other factors.The atmosphere of reconciliation is hard to form and the mechanism of dialogue is being established.The conflict between the government and the ethnic armed groups has lasted for decades,and the armed forces of ethnic minorities are in an increasingly difficult situation and show a tendency of polarization.Some of them are difficult to integrate into the mainstream of the society,some are pressed to turn from the light to the dark,showing a trend towards terrorism.The problem of Rohingya people makes Myanmar's ethnic antagonism go up,and at the same time brings new pressure to Myanmar 's outside environment.Although the ethnic integration policy carried out by the N LD has reduced the internal tension between national identity and ethnic identity to a certain extent,the core contradictions are difficult to deal with,and the NLD lacks sufficient strength to mediate and integrate the contradictions of all parties,resulting in slow progress of ethnic integration and national construction.The fifth chapter mainly analyzes the impact of this round of ethnic integration on Sino-Myanmar relations.Under the leadership of the NDL,Myanmar continues to promote the ethnic integration,which brings some new changes to the situation in Myanmar and some uncertainties in Sino-Myanmar relations.In the short term,the measures taken by the NLD on the ethnic integration have not yet achieved good results,which objectively led to instability in the northern region of Myanmar and highlighted the problem of Rohinya.However,in the long run,if the NLD's concept of comprehensive and inclusive ethnic integration is properly implemented,it will be conducive to the complete realization of peaceful reunification of Myanmar and the promotion of cooperation between China and Myanmar.Therefore,in line with “the Belt and Road” initiative and the international outlook of the “community of shared destiny”,we should actively promote the Myanmar peace process and jointly build a regional security environme nt.In terms of countermeasures,first of all,we should redefine our security interests strategically,strengthen the sense of common destiny,and recognize that a stable Myanmar is more conducive to the long-term development of Sino-Myanmar relations.Taking the opportunity of promoting the integration of Myanmar's ethnic groups,we should work with the new Myanmar government to find common interests between China and Myanmar.Through the ethnic integration policies,the ethnic armed groups will be absorbed into the legitimate state system in order to make it a "responsible" member and to avoid that it became a new “troublemaker” because of its “terrorism”.In this way,the development of Sino-Myanmar relations will be lifted,and the relationship between China and Myanmar will be truly portrayed as a model of relationship between countries with different scale.The conclusion part is a summary of the conclusion and the general theoretical framework.