Party Building in Upper Burma

Nash, Manning

doi:10.1525/as.1963.3.4.01p1625e

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Meanwhile, interest in how power was conceptualized locally, following authors such as Benedict Anderson (1972), intersected with the study of patron-client relations. Nash (1963Nash ( , 1965 exemplifies this trend in the Burmese case. For him, the headman was a mere administrator, whereas the man of hpon, of power and prowess, was key to the vertical networks of patron-client relations that have made up Burma party politics after independence in 1948.…”

Section: Debating the Headmanmentioning

confidence: 91%

Embodying and fashioning headship

Huard

2022

HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory

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This article proposes an analysis of local politics through an ethnographic exploration of headship. It approaches the experience and enactment of politics by describing a day in the life of a headman in rural lowland Myanmar to show how an individual embodies and fashions headship through successive social settings. More specifically, this ethnographic device is a way to analyze what a headman, as a situated figure and a political institution embedded in a local society, mediates in context. The paper discusses how a headman composes with multiple layers of responsibilities and chains of relationships, delineating uncertain boundaries between the personal, the political, and the government domains that partly organize local politics. While updating the literature on Bamar lowland society after more than half a century of dictatorship, the paper suggests a position from which we might reconsider the village headman as an ethnographic starting point for an anthropology concerned with history.

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Section: Debating the Headmanmentioning

confidence: 91%

Embodying and fashioning headship

Huard

2022

HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory

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“…The alliance's leadership, however, was uncertain of the AFPFL's actual nationwide strength as local units belonged to both the league and the mass organisations (Silverstein 1956;Taylor 2009). In rural areas the organisational activities of political parties were tied to the aura of powerful headmen, who interceded for local needs with national parties (Nash 1963).…”

Section: The Emerging Party System In Myanmarmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Parties and Popular Representation in Myanmar's Democratisation Process

Stokke

Win

Aung

2015

Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs

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The article examines the role of political parties in Myanmar's democratisation process. We argue that the substance of democratisation depends on popular representation through political parties but question their capacity to provide such representation. Examining capacity through the concept of party institutionalisation, we find that most parties have not been able to build effective organisational structures. However, we also find a degree of party institutionalisation in the form of rootedness in society. Political cleavages between those favouring authoritarian rule over democratic rule and Burman nationhood over ethnic notions of nationhood have produced divisions between state-centred parties associated with Myanmar's authoritarian legacy and society-centred pro-democracy and ethnic parties. Although being less dichotomous than in the past, we argue that these cleavages continue to provide a basis for party identity and rootedness in society. We conclude that further development of political parties and popular representation will be shaped by the relations between parties, the state, and society – where individual parties are shaped according to their tendencies towards state-centred cartel parties or society-centred mass parties.

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“…The Awza of a man with Pon stems from his personal (italics mine) powers, his marked and conspicuous abilities to succeed in this world." 25 "It connotes a sterling personal character of special religious learning or piety, or even the trait of impartiality in disputes. Pon and Awza are power dimensions of social relations.…”

Section: IVmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Class Structure of Burma: Continuity and Change

Lissak¹

1970

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

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The facts and evaluations presented here were designed to outline some of the characteristics of the Burmese class-structure. Of particular relevance seems to be the occupational structure and its modification during the last three or four decades. The income distribution among various occupational groups also helped in this characterization. The differentiation and cooperation between the different elites was described, together with the setting in which they function, the qualification for admission and the patterns of mobility comparing the standard of aspirations with the channels available. In this context roles and status image were discussed including the rough after status components, status symbols and the preferred occupational hierarchy in terms of social prestige. Finally the internal cohesiveness of the social strata in so far as distinct self-conscious entities are concerned was examined.The material presented may be summed up as follows:1. The population of Burma was split into two main parts: a small elite concentrated in government administration, party bureaucracy and the military on the one hand, and the peasants, small traders, business and hired labourers on the other hand. In between the two is a very small group of middle-class people and skilled workers.2. Although the average income level was exceedingly low, at least until 1962, the span between the highest and lowest income categories was rather great.3. The modern elite was small and though the internal differentiation is slight the antagonism is considerable. Before the coup the main adversary groups (excluding the underground) were administrators, politicians and students. The elite groups enjoyed little autonomy and freedom of action as there was no alternative outlet except the government bureaucracy, the military and an underdeveloped party bureaucracy. The weakness of the legal opposition parties and trade unions, the small number of independent economic organizations made it difficult for oppositional elite to develop and be institutionalized in relatively independent power positions. This had many repercussions on the already limited ability of the political and social centre to cope with economic and political problems.4. Despite the generally universalistic criteria, for acceptance in the various elite groups, and the not insignificant de facto mobility, channels for such upward mobility were few and restricted to certain sectors of the political and government bureaucracy. This enabled the ruling elite to exert much influence on the chanelling of desirable recruits, but created permanent pressure from unemployed or underemployed high school and university graduates.5. Leaving the ethnic minorities aside, crystallized class-oriented groups were very rare, and the main criteria for belonging to the few that existed were the type of education received and the amount of exposure to Western culture. This dividing line drawn by these criteria did not coincide entirely with that between town and countryside. There was little difference in this respect between the majority of the urban and the rural population.Accordingly, Burma's class structure appears to be in a state of extensive flux. It would seem, therefore, that the primary problem is to achieve a more institutionalized differentiation of the sub-elite strata. This would particularly bridge the gap between the elites and the rest of the population and facilitate communication as there would be more “non congruent” status groups capable of serving as intermediaries between the elites and the more sophisticated, differentiated population.

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Party Building in Upper Burma

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Embodying and fashioning headship

Embodying and fashioning headship

Political Parties and Popular Representation in Myanmar's Democratisation Process

The Class Structure of Burma: Continuity and Change

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