Research On Myanmar’s Democratization Reform From The Perspective Of Country Geography

The military government has ruled Myanmar for half a century.In 2010,it started the democratization reform and established a new democratically elected government.Myanmar realized "returning power to the people".However,the road to Myanmar’s democratization is not smooth.In 2021,a military coup will break out in Myanmar again,and Myanmar’s democratization reform has been hit hard.As an important neighbor of China and an important node in the "Belt and Road" initiative,whether Myanmar’s internal stability will have a direct impact on the security of China’s border areas and the smooth progress of the Belt and Road Initiative.In addition,although the current academic circles have produced a lot of research results on Myanmar’s democratization reform,few studies have been conducted from the perspective of the country’s geographical environment.Therefore,studying Myanmar’s democratization reform from the perspective of the country’s geo-environment can help us better understand the process of Myanmar’s democratization reform,understand the behavior and decision-making of various political forces in Myanmar at various stages,and have a better understanding of the future trend of Myanmar’s democratization reform.Making reasonable predictions will help my country to prepare appropriate response and development strategies from different spatial scales in advance,and help the further advancement of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the construction of a community of shared future for mankind.First,based on the geo-environmental theory,this paper expounds and constructs the thinking and framework of Myanmar’s country-specific geoenvironmental analysis.Under the background of Myanmar’s historical development,the evolution of Myanmar’s geo-environment is discussed,and the influencing factors of Myanmar’s geo-environment are analyzed;secondly,the democratization reform of Myanmar is divided into three stages（1948-1989）,1990-2010 and 2011-2020)for analysis.Finally,it sorts out the changes in the domestic geographical environment,international geographical relations,and geographical structure since the military coup in Myanmar,and forecasts the situation in Myanmar and the future trend of democratization reform.Research indicates:（1）The evolution of Myanmar’s geographical environment can be divided into three stages according to different characteristics,namely: the period of internal chaos and external repression from 1948 to 1989,the period of internal stability and external suppression from 1990 to 2010,and the period of internal chaos and external stability from 2011 to 2020.There are many factors influencing the evolution of Myanmar’s geo-environment.There are both internal reasons and external factors,and external factors often combine with internal factors.Myanmar’s democratization reforms have arisen and unfolded in the complicated domestic and foreign situations,and various factors in the domestic environment have fully demonstrated its role in each stage of Myanmar’s democratization process.On the other hand,the actions of foreign governments or institutions have an impact,even decisively,on the democratization process in Myanmar.（2）Myanmar’s democratization reform is the result of the interweaving and synergy of various factors including Myanmar’s domestic geographical environment,international geographical relationship and geographical structure:（1）In terms of geographical environment,conflicts between ethnic armed groups and the Burmese army continue,which seriously affects the society.order;the continuous backward economy caused dissatisfaction among the people,and the cassock revolution in 2007 caused by the sharp rise in oil prices accelerated the process of democratization in Myanmar;the 2008 constitution stipulated the implementation of democratic elections,which provided guidance,norms and laws for the development of Myanmar into a democratic country Guarantee;the democratic forces headed by the NLD are constantly working to promote the democratization of Myanmar,and the voices for democracy in Myanmar at home and abroad are getting louder and louder.Under such circumstances,the Myanmar military compromised with the NLD and took the initiative to implement this top-down democratization reform.（2）In terms of geographical relations,the sanctions against Myanmar by Western countries led by the United States,ASEAN’s support and pressure on Myanmar’s reforms,and China’s active role in Myanmar ’ s democratization process have all played a role in promoting Myanmar ’ s democratization process.（3）In terms of geopolitical structure,the global political structure has changed,and the two-level confrontation has turned into one superpower and multiple powers;economic development has changed the material structure of Myanmar;the third wave of democratization has changed the ideological structure of Myanmar.The voice grew stronger.（3）Since the military coup in Myanmar,the domestic situation in Myanmar has continued to be turbulent.Under the double impact of the turmoil and the epidemic,Myanmar’s economy has been stagnant and social order is chaotic;and foreign sanctions and criticism of Myanmar have never subsided.The deteriorating domestic geopolitical environment and the chaotic social order will inevitably hinder the advancement of Myanmar’s democratization process;and the easing of international pressure will make the initiative of Myanmar’s democratization process in the hands of Myanmar itself.The future of Myanmar still requires compromise and cooperation among various political forces within Myanmar,as does Myanmar’s democratization process.Myanmar’s democratization reform is not achieved overnight,but is the result of the mutual interaction of multiple scales and factors in Myanmar’s domestic geographic environment,international geographic relations,and geographic structure.The dynamics of Myanmar’s democratization reform is related to its domestic stability.As an important neighboring country,continuous attention to Myanmar’s democratization and reform trends will help maintain China-Myanmar relations and promote the Belt and Road.