economic development, reducing international influence and solidifying the military’s role in Burma’s political and economic spheres (Holmes, 1967). Although Tatmadaw leaders realized in the 1980s that they stood to gain more by engaging in a free market economy, it remained constant through the 1990s and early 2000s. It was not until 2003 that the SPDC announced the Roadmap to Democracy which, according to Bunte (2017), codified the military’s leading role in the participation of the state... The drafting of the new constitution was finalized in February 2008, and in May 2008 it was formally approved in a nationwide referendum. The referendum was apparently manipulated, since the official results of 94.4 per cent in favor with a voter turnout of 98 per cent lacked any credibility. (p. 16) According to this new legal ideology, Burma was on the road to a “disciplined democracy,” implying that the Tatmadaw would eventually step back from holding exclusive power following the conclusion of a seven-phase democratization process. The announcement of the Roadmap also included talk of reconvening the National Convention to draft a new constitution and then to hold elections to reconvene parliamentary sessions. In 2008 the new (less-than-democratic) constitution was officially implemented. The last step in the Roadmap to Democracy, the new canon retained significant control for the Tatmadaw, especially with regard to parliament and the central government’s various ministries (Fisher, 2016). According to the constitution, the military holds onequarter of the seats in parliament, thereby giving it veto power over any law proposed by the NLD or any other participating parties. Furthermore, in order to change the constitution, the NLD and Suu Kyi must obtain more than 75% of seats in both houses of parliament (Robertson, 2015). This guarantees that unless the military agrees to 56