Columbia University Press Burma Redux: Global Justice and the Quest for Political Reform in Myanmar

Contemporary Myanmar faces a number of political challenges, and it is unclear how other nations should act in relation to the country. Prioritizing the opinions of local citizens and reading them against the latest scholarship on this issue, Ian Holliday affirms the importance of foreign interests in Myanmar's democratic awakening, yet only through committed, grassroots strategies of engagement encompassing foreign states, international aid agencies, and global corporations. Holliday supports his argument by using multiple sources and theories, particularly ones that take historical events, contemporary political and social investigations, and global justice literature into account, as well as studies that focus on the effects of democratic transition, the aid industry, and socially responsible corporate investing and sanctions. One of the only volumes to apply broad-ranging global justice theories to a real-world nation in flux, Burma Redux will appeal to professionals researching Burma/Myanmar; political advisers and advocacy groups; nonspecialists interested in Southeast Asian politics and society and the local and international problems posed by pariah states; general readers who seek a richer understanding of the country beyond journalistic accounts; and the Burmese people themselves-both within the country and in diaspora. Burma Redux is also the first book-length study on the nation to be completed after the contentious general elections of 2010. Review [An] astute book.--Publishers Weekly Not many books have been written on Myanmar, so Holliday's extensive and intensiveexamination of the this country's state of affairs in this book is a pioneering contributionto understanding its problems and helping its people achieve freedom and foster economicdevelopment.--Bizindia As both the United States and the European Union have announced their intentions to engage with the new administration in Myanmar, Ian Holliday's timely and well-focused study provides important background and scholarly guidance justifying intervention on human rights grounds. His strategy of grassroots engagement, particularly utilizing neighboring states, international agencies, and multinational corporations is well argued and persuasive. Holliday recognizes that practical difficulties require determination and high-level persuasion, not least in regional diplomacy. This volume is an important contribution, from a refreshingly new perspective.--Derek Tonkin, Network Myanmar Ian Holliday's study... remains a valuable introduction to Burma's problems and its discussion of possible avenues of reform and international cooperation still makes an important contribution to the public debate.--Andrew Selth, Griffith University "Asian Studies Review " In the Western mind, Burmese politics is characterized by a struggle between a rapacious military elite and gentle, freedom-loving democrats. There is some truth to this view, but more is needed to understand the country and to help its people. This excellent book--a rare combination of history, social science, and normative political theory--provides the rest.--Daniel A. Bell, Tsinghua University This is a fine introduction to the modern history of Burma and in particular to the history of Burma since 1948.--Seth Offenbach "H-Diplo " About the Author Ian Holliday is professor of political science at The University of Hong Kong and has taught at New York University and the University of Manchester. His research focuses on problems in the contemporary government and politics of Burma/Myanmar and his teaching centers on Southeast Asia, particularly issues of humanitarian intervention and global justice. He is a founding editor of the journal Party Politics and has relaunched the journal Contemporary Politics.