[EAI Special Commentary on Myanmar]

“2022, Illuminating Myanmar!”

Since 2015, the East Asia Institute (EAI) has been operating the Myanmar Civil Society Capacity Building (MDRN) project. MDRN is an international educational cooperation program that supports the organizational and research capacities of nascent think tanks in Myanmar to conduct sound policy research during the democratization process. EAI has shared its experience with network-based, private, independent think tanks with MDRN partners, thereby supporting various workshops and lectures to help Myanmar achieve sound democratic development based on civil society growth.

However, following the coup d'état on February 1, 2021, significant disruptions arose in program operations with local partner institutions, leading to a shift in the project's focus towards international support and research for Myanmar. Recalling Korea's democratization movement of the past, we are reminded that the temporal internalization of democratic values is a democratic transition task for Myanmar and other countries.

One year after the coup, we have planned a special commentary series on Myanmar that holistically examines Myanmar's past, present, and future to discuss its democracy.

The publication schedule for the reports is as follows:

1. Park Eun-hong, The 'Spring Revolution' for a New Myanmar is the Future of Democracy in Asia (Published February 18) [Read Report]

2. Jang Jun-young, Myanmar's Socio-Economic Crisis Post-Coup: A Repeat of History or a New Chapter? (Published February 21) [Read Report]

3. Lee Jae-hyun, Myanmar and ASEAN After the 2021 Military Coup (Published February 23) [Read Report]

4. Lee Hyun-yoon, Mutual Experiences of Myanmar's Democratization Movement and South Korean Civil Society (Published February 25) [Read Report]

5. Shin Young-hwan, The Unceasing Struggle of Myanmar's Civil Society for Democracy: Reflections from EAI's Myanmar Cooperation Project (Published February 28) [Read Report]

6. Kim Young-hwa, Questions Raised for Korean Media by Myanmar's Democratization Protests (Published March 2) [Read Report]

7. Kim Heon-jun, The 2021 Myanmar Situation and International Human Rights (Published March 4) [Read Report]