won a landslide victory, and Aung San Suu Kyi—although still constitutionally barred from holding the title of president—became head of state. It should be noted that despite appearing to be entirely free and fair, had the military wanted to prevent Suu Kyi or the NLD from winning it could have easily done so. It would have known that the NLD was going to succeed long before the elections were held. Moreover, it benefited the Tatmadaw to have Suu Kyi take control of the civilian government. The Tatmadaw would now be able to focus solely on its economic goals and preserve the privileges of the generals while ensuring the long-term existence of the military as a powerful institution in Burmese social and political life. By the time of the election, the crisis in Rakhine State had reached an all-time high, and the Rohingya refugee crisis was in full swing, with nearly one million refugees having fled the country to Bangladesh on foot and to Malaysia via fishing boats. Having garnered international attention and causing wide-scale criticism, an apparent democratic victory was a much-needed distraction for the international community, thereby further enabling the Tatmadaw to continue carrying out its economic and social plans under the guise of political transition. However, while the international community was praising the Burmese authorities, a militant group of Rohingya was mobilizing under the direction of Ata Ullah, resulting in the official establishing of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Following a string of ARSA attacks on Burmese border guardposts, the Tatmadaw retaliated by killing scores of Rohingya civilians and sending thousands more fleeing to Bangladesh. The advent of ARSA undoubtedly added fuel to the fire in Rakhine State and bolstered the military’s claim that the Rohingya pose an inherent threat 21