SUMMARY
At the time of independence on 4 January 1949, the government of Burma (since 1988, renamed Myanmar) was already faced with several armed rebellions. As a consequence, the first task for the new administration was to allocate resources to strengthen the armed forces in the country. The political elite in the country at the time almost exclusively had a background as militants in the independence movement and had organised personal armed militias during the lead up to independence, thereby establishing a link between political power and the ability to use violence. During the 1950s, the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, evolved into an independent political actor that successfully pressured the parliamentarians to appoint a military caretaker administration during 1958-1960. In 1962, the military under Ne Win ousted the government and announced the formation of a dictatorship under the BSPP (Burmese Socialist Programme Party). Following large-scale protest demonstrations in 1988, the BSPP was replaced by continued military rule under the name SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council), which in 1997 changed its name to SPDC (State Peace and Development Council). In 1990, national elections were held and won by the opposition party NLD (National League for Democracy). The military declared that power could not be transferred and democratic governance could not be implemented until after the country had finalized a new constitution.
The organisational and ideological background of the military in Myanmar can be traced back to its formation before independence. Even though the British colonial army included some local troops, these were primarily recruited among the ethnic minority hill tribes. The independence movement was led by students at Rangoon universities who eventually contacted Japan requesting help with military training. One of the students who received Japanese training was Ne Win who in 1943 became the commander of the BNA (Burma National Army) while the country was occupied by Japan. The BNA eventually joined the British forces against the Japanese in 1945, but the officers trained by Japan became the core staff when Ne Win in 1950 reorganised the Tatmadaw War Office.
Apart from the important role of the armed forces in the government, a powerful intelligence apparatus was developed to detect and eliminate opposition to the rulers. The government has a long history of creating paramilitary forces outside of the official structures to contribute in fighting insurgencies and policing the country. Since 1990, such paramilitaries have existed under several different names. Some have been formed as alliances with local warlords or former rebel forces that have been allowed to control and police a given territory in exchange for a ceasefire with the government. Such forces, for example the DKBA (Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army) have also often accompanied government troops in offensives against insurgents. Another type of paramilitary organisation linked to the government is the USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) formed on 15 September 1993. Officially, the USDA was intended to be a “social welfare organization” but it has increasingly acted as a paramilitary unofficial police force and it has created several armed local forces with names such as “Strength of the nation group”. In an attempt to prevent future protests against the government, it also started so-called PSAS (Pyithy Swan Arr Shin, People’s masters of force) militias in neighbourhoods where it suspected strong support for the opposition.
Following the establishment of SLORC in 1988, the government of Myanmar consisted of a military junta been led by Saw Maung (1988-1992) and senior general Than Shwe (1992-2011).
In 2011, following the redrafting of a constitution and parliamentary elections, nominal civilian rule was re-established in the country. The new regime under President Thein Sein was, however, dominated by former military officers. In 2015, Myanmar held its first multiparty elections where liberal democratic National League for Democracy won by a landslide victory. State counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi became the de facto leader of Myanmar. Later, in the general election in 2020, NLD took the majority of the votes. However, the elected representatives were not able to take their seats because of the military coup on 1 February 2021.
Following the February 2021 coup, the military installed the State Administration Council (SAC), which took the legislative, executive, and judiciary powers of the state, ending civilian rule in Myanmar. Furthermore, SAC detained President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. SAC annulled the 2020 general election and called for a new election, and until then, declared a nationwide state of emergency.
The Government of Myanmar has been involved in the interstate, intrastate, and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
