The "Other" Karen in Myanmar: Ethnic Minorities and the Struggle without Arms (AsiaWorld)

The "Other" Ethno-nationalities in Myanmar/Burma -- A changing political landscape in SPDC and Post-SPDC periods -- The 'other' nationalities in Burma/Myanmar -- Self-employed, low-income earners and small-, medium-, and large-scale enterprise owners -- Government and public sector employees -- Private sector employees Professionals working for international organizations -- Members of local NGOs and community-based organizations -- Members of government-organized -- Nongovernmental organizations (GONGOs) -- Members of pro-government parties -- Members of opposition parties -- Civilians under the control of armed organizations in ceasefire and contested areas -- Three patterns of civilian politics among ethnic minoirites -- Activities supporting the status Quo -- Activities transforming or undermining the status Quo -- Promoting ethnic identity and addressing humanitarian needs -- Conclusion -- Conclusion : The "Other" ethnonationalities in comparative perspective -- Competing identities -- Divide-and-rule strategies -- The role of the "Other" minorities in ethnic politics.;Who are the "Other" or "Quiet" minorities? -- The political significance of the "Other" minorities -- Bringing the "other" minorities into the study of ethnic politics -- The emergence of the Karen Ethno-National Movement -- The construction of Karen ethno-nationalist identities -- The "Material race" -- The myaungmya incident The case for an independent Karen state -- The "Martial race" returns -- Saw Ba U Gyi and the insein ceasefire talks -- KNU in 21st Century Burma -- Conclusion -- Kawthoolei Karen : A fragmented constituency government-controlled zones -- Rebel-controlled and contested zones -- The refugees -- The Diaspora -- Conclusion -- The "Rebel" and the "Accomomodator" -- The Early stages of the armed resistance movement -- Profile of prominent Karen political leaders at KNU and KYO in 1945-1949 -- The later stages of the armed rebellion -- Divide and rule -- Places of residence -- Competing identities -- Lack or perceived lack of alternatives -- Conclusion.;"This book is the first study to an offer insight into non-armed, non-insurgent members of ethnic groups that are associated with well-known armed organizations. It analyzes the nature of the relationships between the "quiet" minorities and their "rebel" counterparts and assesses how these intra-ethnic differences and divisions affect the armed resistance movement, negotiation with state authorities, conflict resolution, and political reform. This field-based study of the Karen in Burma also provides theoretical and policy implications for other ethnically polarized countries."--Publisher's description.

The 'Other' Karen in Myanmar looks at the 'other' or 'quiet' minorities, who are members of ethnic groups associated with well-known armed resistance organizations, but who pursued non-violent approaches to promote their individual and collective interests. This is the first in-depth study to uncover the existence and activities of the 'other' Karen and analyze the nature of relationships with their 'rebel' counterparts and the state authorities. It also discusses other ethnic armed organizations that have experienced similar situations and assesses their implications for inter-ethnic relations, negotiations with state authorities and political reform.
Most previous studies have focused on violent aspects of ethnic relations and on ethnic armed organizations, such as the Karen National Union (KNU) in Burma, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Philippines, and the LTTE in Sri Lanka. However, even among these minorities which are locked in armed conflicts, the majority of people have shunned armed resistance and sought to remain ‘quietly’ beyond the struggle and pursued non-violent approaches to promote their individual and collective interests in the face of authoritarian, governments.
This study, which sheds light on the lives and growing political significance of non-armed, non-insurgent members of ethnic minorities in Burma, draws heavily on opinion surveys and open-ended interviews among Karen diaspora (among individuals who lived a minimum of 20 years in Burma), 'quiet Karens' who live inside Burma, KNU officials, personnel, and soldiers, and Karen refugees and IDPs who are currently living in Thai-Burma border areas. These interviews, which covered approximately two hundred respondents, have been conducted since 2002.
It is mainly directed toward social scientists, historians, humanitarian workers, policy makers, and practitioners, and non-specialist ordinary audience who are interested in Southeast Asian/Burmese politics and society, comparative politics, identity politics, ethnic conflict, social movements, conflict resolution, and political reform.

The “Other” Karen in Myanmar looks at the “other” or “quiet” minorities, who are members of ethnic groups associated with well-known armed resistance organizations, but who pursued non-violent approaches to promote their individual and collective interests. This is the first in-depth study to uncover the existence and activities of the “other” Karen and analyze the nature of relationships with their “rebel” counterparts and the state authorities. It also discusses other ethnic armed organizations that have experienced similar situations and assesses their implications for inter-ethnic relations, negotiations with state authorities and political reform. Most previous studies have focused on violent aspects of ethnic relations and on ethnic armed organizations, such as the Karen National Union (KNU) in Burma, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Philippines, and the LTTE in Sri Lanka. However, even among these minorities which are locked in armed conflicts, the majority of people have shunned armed resistance and sought to remain ‘quietly’ beyond the struggle and pursued non-violent approaches to promote their individual and collective interests in the face of authoritarian, governments. This study, which sheds light on the lives and growing political significance of non-armed, non-insurgent members of ethnic minorities in Burma, draws heavily on opinion surveys and open-ended interviews among Karen diaspora (among individuals who lived a minimum of 20 years in Burma), “quiet Karens” who live inside Burma, KNU officials, personnel, and soldiers, and Karen refugees and IDPs who are currently living in Thai-Burma border areas. These interviews, which covered approximately two hundred respondents, have been conducted since 2002. It is mainly directed toward social scientists, historians, humanitarian workers, policy makers, and practitioners, and non-specialist ordinary audience who are interested in Southeast Asian/Burmese politics and society, comparative politics, identity politics, ethnic conflict, social movements, conflict resolution, and political reform. Who are the "Other" or "Quiet" minorities? -- The political significance of the "Other" minorities -- Bringing the "other" minorities into the study of ethnic politics -- The emergence of the Karen Ethno-National Movement -- The construction of Karen ethno-nationalist identities -- The "Material race" -- The myaungmya incident The case for an independent Karen state -- The "Martial race" returns -- Saw Ba U Gyi and the insein ceasefire talks -- KNU in 21st Century Burma -- Conclusion -- Kawthoolei Karen : A fragmented constituency government-controlled zones -- Rebel-controlled and contested zones -- The refugees -- The Diaspora -- Conclusion -- The "Rebel" and the "Accomomodator" -- The Early stages of the armed resistance movement -- Profile of prominent Karen political leaders at KNU and KYO in 1945-1949 -- The later stages of the armed rebellion -- Divide and rule -- Places of residence -- Competing identities -- Lack or perceived lack of alternatives -- Conclusion. The "Other" Ethno-nationalities in Myanmar/Burma -- A changing political landscape in SPDC and Post-SPDC periods -- The 'other' nationalities in Burma/Myanmar -- Self-employed, low-income earners and small-, medium-, and large-scale enterprise owners -- Government and public sector employees -- Private sector employees Professionals working for international organizations -- Members of local NGOs and community-based organizations -- Members of government-organized -- Nongovernmental organizations (GONGOs) -- Members of pro-government parties -- Members of opposition parties -- Civilians under the control of armed organizations in ceasefire and contested areas -- Three patterns of civilian politics among ethnic minoirites -- Activities supporting the status Quo -- Activities transforming or undermining the status Quo -- Promoting ethnic identity and addressing humanitarian needs -- Conclusion -- Conclusion : The "Other" ethnonationalities in comparative perspective -- Competing identities -- Divide-and-rule strategies -- The role of the "Other" minorities in ethnic politics.