The Disciplining Discourse of Unity in Burmese Politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8063263 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew J Walton, Matthew Walton (0000-0001-5882-8837, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2015-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The journal of Burma studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-799X • E-ISSN: 2010-314X |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jbs.2015.0003 |
| OpenAlex | W748920093 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 33 |
| References cited | 2 |
A concern with unity has been a consistent theme in modern Burmese politics. This article examines a particularly problematic conception of unity that I argue draws strength from its resonance with Buddhist moral notions of the self and overcoming self-centeredness. As a moral concept, this narrative of unity is idealized in devotion to a common purpose and loyalty to a group or community; it requires subsuming one’s own interests for the benefit of the whole, something that encapsulates the Buddhist practice of rejecting atta (ego). Disunity, then, is the result of a group of individuals committed only to their own benefit; it is evidence of moral failure. This discourse of unity has been an effectively anti-democratic disciplining tool (deployed by both governments and opposition groups) for suppressing internal dissent. Despite General Aung San’s oft-quoted slogan of “unity in diversity,” political movements in Myanmar have been more commonly characterized by hegemonic attempts at imposing a top-down unity that labels deviation from or criticism of dominant positions as disloyalty. This article examines the perpetuation of a rigid, unitary understanding of unity and argues that developing a more flexible and accommodating notion of unity will be a necessary step in the process of national reconciliation
Buddhism · Burmese · Dissent · Epistemology · National Unity · Opposition (politics · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Political science · Politics · Slogan · Sociology · Unity in diversity · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Asian Studies and History · Cambodian History and Society · Psychology · Law · Philosophy · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 33 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2025 (10) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 33 |