made that this is due to the fact that a powerful party backed by the military and longevity for that institution were the goals—and they remain so to this day. Not surprisingly, socialism was just one of the many tactics employed by the Tatmadaw to achieve their overall goals rather than disseminating an ideology to which those in power were actually committed. Post-1988 and the Burmese Veneer of Democracy After the Four Eights rebellion, the rise of the SLORC and the SPDC ushered in a new era of military domination that was unique in its own right but continued to employ control tactics that were originally introduced by the Caretaker Government and Ne Win’s regime. As Armao (2015) explains, the events during and immediately after the Four Eights protests launched Burma in an even more militaristic direction which ultimately allowed for the perpetual delay of true democratic reform. Following the pacification of Rangoon after the Four Eights uprising, the new SLORC military regime immediately rejected the socialist ideology of BSPP and took control over political and social life. Although the new regime dismissed Ne Win’s regime and doctrine as inadequate, Burma under direct Tatmadaw dominance still closely resembled the hierarchy of the Revolutionary Council after the 1962 coup, although even tighter controls were used through implementation of multiple administrative levels called Law and Order Restoration Councils ranging from division to township to individual wards (Seekins, 2011). Due to the extreme violence used by the military during the popular uprising, and the ensuing international outrage, it was clear that the Tatmadaw had to do something to 32