Contesting Buddhist Narratives 3 economic development. The government has released hundreds of political prisoners, relaxed restrictions on the press, and passed laws allowing for peaceful demonstrations and the formation of unions. In addition, the new government has secured cease-fires with over a dozen nonstate, ethnic-minority armed groups in the country, and has voiced its commitment to seeking a nationwide cease-fire accord that would launch a national political dialogue process seeking a full political settlement. Finally, restrictions were lifted on opposition parties, resulting in sweeping gains for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in parliamentary by-elections in April 2012. However, each of these encouraging changes carries with it a sobering counterpart. The promising rhetoric of the new government has not necessarily been matched by a capacity (or willingness) to carry out many Each encouraging political necessary reforms or address institutional change carries with it a barriers to meaningful change. For example, some political prisoners sobering counterpart still remain behind bars, and their numbers have been swollen by newly arrested activists. In addition, while the government peace team has negotiated cease-fires with most ethnic armed groups, violent conflict with the Kachin Independence Army and several other ethnic armed groups threatens peace talks. Furthermore, the hoped-for benefits of foreign investments have not only failed to appear, but the investments seem focused on a model of growth that has led to dispossession of land and indebtedness for much of the country’s rural population. Foreign investments are perceived to be controlled by so-called “cronies,” Myanmar’s wealthy elites who often have strong ties to the military. Despite the dramatic and genuine changes that have brought obvious new freedoms in urban areas, the reforms have yet to significantly improve the lives of the country’s vast rural population, who often exist in a world far removed from the center, both geographically and psychologically. These challenges translate into ongoing feelings of anxiety, cynicism, and uncertainty for many living in rural areas. Meanwhile, as is common in countries undergoing rapid political transition, new domestic conflicts are emerging (International Crisis Group 2013, Transnational Institute 2013). There are a number of actors who, for various reasons, are resisting the reform efforts. Multiple