Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmar's Courts Make Law and Order (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)

The Rule Of Law Is A Political Ideal Today Endorsed And Promoted Worldwide. Or Is It? In A Significant Contribution To The Field, Nick Cheesman Argues That Myanmar Is A Country In Which The Rule Of Law Is 'lexically Present But Semantically Absent'. Charting Ideas And Practices From British Colonial Rule Through Military Dictatorship To The Present Day, Cheesman Calls Upon Political And Legal Theory To Explain How And Why Institutions Animated By A Concern For Law And Order Oppose The Rule Of Law. Empirically Grounded In Both Burmese And English Sources, Including Criminal Trial Records And Wide Ranging Official Documents, Opposing The Rule Of Law Offers The First Significant Study Of Courts In Contemporary Myanmar. It Sheds New Light On The Politics Of Courts During Dark Times And Sharply Illuminates The Tension Between The Demand For Law And The Imperatives Of Order-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Introduction; 1. How Law And Order Opposes The Rule Of Law; 2. Ordering Law In The Colony; 3. Reordering Law In The Postcolony; 4. Subsuming Law To Order; 5. Embodying The Law And Order Ideal; 6. Performing Order, Making Money; 7. Through Disorder, Law And Order; 8. Speaking Up For The Rule Of Law; 9. Against Quietude; Glossary; Bibliography; Index. Nick Cheesman, Australian National University. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The rule of law is a political ideal today endorsed and promoted worldwide. Or is it? In a significant contribution to the field, Nick Cheesman argues that Myanmar is a country in which the rule of law is 'lexically present but semantically absent'. Charting ideas and practices from British colonial rule through military dictatorship to the present day, Cheesman calls upon political and legal theory to explain how and why institutions animated by a concern for law and order oppose the rule of law. Empirically grounded in both Burmese and English sources, including criminal trial records and wide ranging official documents, Opposing the Rule of Law offers the first significant study of courts in contemporary Myanmar. It sheds new light on the politics of courts during dark times and sharply illuminates the tension between the demand for law and the imperatives of order"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half-title Page 3 Series Page 4 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Acknowledgements 10 Note on burmese usage 15 Introduction 17 1 How law and order opposes the rule of law 31 2 Ordering law in the colony 53 3 Reordering law in the postcolony 79 4 Subsuming law to order 113 5 Embodying the law and order ideal 147 6 Performing order, making money 177 7 Through disorder, law and order 208 8 Speaking up for the rule of law 242 9 Against quietude 274 Appendix 283 Glossary 291 Bibliography 292 Index 326 Empirically grounded in both Burmese and English sources, this book offers the first major study of the contemporary court system in Myanmar. Nick Cheesman calls upon legal and political theory to explain how and why institutions animated by a concern for law and order oppose the rule of law.