Ethnicity and Identity

Bibliographic Data

ID20053355
AuthorsViolet Cho (corresponding author)
Year2018
Pages43-51
Publication date2018-03-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueRoutledge Handbook of Contemporary Myanmar (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315743677-5
OpenAlexW2909237314
ISBN9781315743677
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited1

This chapter explores ethnicity in Myanmar as socially constructed and process-oriented. It looks at some of the discursive processes involved in ethnic group-making, involving the state, ethnic elites and subaltern voices through the exploration of texts. The chapter examines state and allied projects. It also examines projects that diverge from and aims to resist the state from ethnonationalist perspectives. The chapter briefly considers contemporary implications of ethnic identity in Myanmar's democratic transition and beyond. The state is a key entity involved in ethnic group-building projects. The postcolonial state recast ethnicity as a form of kinship, emphasising similarities, unity in diversity and a shared history of anti-colonial struggle rather than difference and inherent conflict. Ethnic unity has been a key goal for all Burmese postcolonial governments, exemplified in slogans such as 'union spirit'. The politics of ethnicity is a key element for the state to manage within the current political transition

Aesthetics · Art · Ethnic group · Sociology · Anthropology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Philippine History and Culture

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