Soldier Defection as a Revolutionary Strategy in Myanmar
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4836097 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Helene Maria Kyed (0000-0002-8020-7743, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, corresponding author), Ah Lynn (Independent researcher) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 824-845 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00472336.2024.2321521 |
| OpenAlex | W4394608837 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 22 |
The military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021 unleashed massive popular uprising against military rule, which was met with heavy handed military violence. Less than a month after the coup the first soldiers joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) along with many civil servants who refused to work under the military. The resistance to the military was soon named the Spring Revolution, with calls for pervasive transformation of Myanmar's political structures and security forces. Military defections gradually developed into a "revolutionary strategy." This article explores how this development evolved and how defectors were transformed into "revolutionary actors" during the ongoing revolutionary situation. The analysis is based on the personal narratives and collective activities of those soldiers who became active in the CDM. Applying a conversion narrative approach, the article traces the processes of defection from individual disaffection with military violence to the formation of CDM soldier groups and the personal transformation of soldiers. Adding to existing literature on military defections during popular uprisings against authoritarian regimes, the article demonstrates that defection holds significance not only for the outcomes of revolutions, but also for the shaping of revolutionary ideas and practices during revolutionary situations
Authoritarianism · Civil disobedience · Civil–military relations · Democracy · Military science · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law
Nonviolent RevolutionsCivil Resistance in the Late 20th Century
Unarmed Insurrections
The “dictator’s endgame”
Unravelling the complex nature of security force defection
The More Fragmented the Better?—The Impact of Armed Forces Structure on Defection during Nonviolent Popular Uprisings
Military refusers and the invocation of conscience
Why Civil Resistance Works
Making Enemies
Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis
Jumping on the Bandwagon
Desertion and Collective Action in Civil Wars
A question of trust
From Disaffection to Desertion
Coup-Proofing, Military Defection, and the Arab Spring
Strange Bedfellows or Trusted Comrades? Digital Solidarity Building among Myanmar's Revolutionaries
Military Insubordination in Popular Mass Uprisings
Introduction
Out of the Barracks
Arab Uprisings, Armed Forces, and Civil-Military Relations
From Prowar Soldier to Antiwar Activist
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |