Soldiers and Diplomacy in Burma

Événements

À l’occasion de la sortie de l’ouvrage Soldiers and Diplomacy in Burma, de Renaud Egreteau et Larry Jagan, aux Presses universitaires de Singapour, un lunchtime talk sera d’abord organisé à la Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, en présence de François Robinne, directeur de l’IRASEC. Le lancement officiel de l’ouvrage, accompagné d’un séminaire en présence des deux auteurs, aura lieu à la Singapore Institute of International Affairs dans la soirée le même jour.

Upcoming Seminar and Book Launch

On behalf of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), NUS Press, the Embassy of France to Singapore and IRASEC (Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia), Bangkok, we would like to invite you to an upcoming seminar “Myanmar : Looking Ahead – Key Actors, Democracy and Foreign Policy” on Monday, 10 June 2013, at 5:30pm at the offices of the SIIA.

Myanmar’s transformation is underway at remarkable speed, but reforms are far from complete. With the country in the process of transition, there is a great deal of uncertainty around Myanmar’s future development, including its foreign relations. The military has introduced and continues to drive the domestic reform process, but the its grip on the levers of foreign policy remains very strong. And the challenges of peacemaking and reconciliation with the minority groups will sorely test the capabilities of the government, the military and the current opposition. What can be expected from Myanmar’s praetorian leadership in the future ?

The seminar will feature three distinguished speakers : Prof. Ibrahim A. Gambari (Distinguished Visiting Fellow, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies ; former UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs) ; Dr. Renaud Egreteau (Research Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities & Social Sciences at University of Hong Kong, and an IRASEC Research Associate) ; and Mr. Larry Jagan (journalist and political analyst).

Dr. Renaud Egreteau and Mr. Larry Jagan are authors of a new book published by NUS Press in association with IRASEC, Soldiers and Diplomats, to be launched at the event. Dr. Egreteau and Mr. Jagan will highlight key arguments from the book with Prof. Gambari commenting from his experience of Myanmar’s foreign policy priorities.

Among the questions to be discussed :

• How will foreign policy evolve as Myanmar’s political reform process continues ? How does the Myanmar leadership understand the imperatives and trade-offs of further engagement ?
• How important is the China factor in Myanmar’s reforms and political development ?
• Are China and India competing in a new "great game" over influence in Myanmar ?
• After years of sanctions, what does the "return of the West" hold for Myanmar ? How much leverage can the West expect to gain ?
• Has the ASEAN policy of engagement with Myanmar paid off ? Do Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore stand to gain as Myanmar integrates itself more and more into the international economy ?