Burma/Myanmar and the United States The Dilemma of a Delicate Balance

• Published in: Asia policy Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 134 - 142
• Main Author: Thuzar, Moe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seattle National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) 01.10.2021; National Bureau of Asian Research; The National Bureau of Asian Research
• Subjects: Anti-communism; Armed forces; Cold War; Councils; Coups d'etat; Democracy; Democratization; Diplomatic & consular services; Diplomats; Foreign policy; Geopolitics; Government agencies; International relations; Legitimacy; Military regimes; Ne Win; Perceptions; Political power; Presidents; ROUNDTABLE ESSAY; State power; Beijing China; Southeast Asia; Myanmar (Burma); United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Asia; China
• ISSN: 1559-0968; 1559-2960
• DOI: 10.1353/asp.2021.0062

In 2021, in the midst of a "confluence of crises" catalyzed by the Myanmar military's seizure of state power on February 1, the year 2015 will be viewed as the halfway point in Myanmar's now interrupted journey of reform and democratic transition.1 Bilateral relations between Myanmar and the United States, which started to normalize in the almost ten years between April 2011 and January 2021, are now "paused" at best, with Washington imposing and increasing targeted sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar since February. In 2015 I suggested that Myanmar would be engaged in an "eternal balancing act" between the United States and China.2 I continue that assessment in this essay, taking a closer look at how this balancing act is underpinned by domestic perceptions that motivate Burmese policymakers and diplomats to continue this policy of a "delicate balance."4 Examining the domestic underpinnings to foreign policy takes on heightened relevance in the current geopolitical moment where major-power competition seizes imaginations globally, including in Southeast Asia. The current political moment in Myanmar, where the military coup has catalyzed a contest for foreign policy dominance and legitimacy assertion in the international arena, also calls for this additional lens of assessment. In this essay, I briefly assess Burmese domestic perceptions of the United States and its policy toward Myanmar along three broad themes: perceptions and expectations, the importance of legitimacy (to the Burmese), and revealed pragmatic preferences in bilateral interactions.