Table of Contents List of Figures .................................................................................................................. vi Glossary of Acronyms .................................................................................................... vii I. A Brief History ..................................................................................................... 1 II. Early Control Tactics of the Burmese Military State, 1948-2008 ...................... 24 From a Caretaker Government to the People’s Revolution ................................ 24 Post-1988 and the Burmese Veneer of Democracy ............................................ 32 Legal and Economic Control Tactics .................................................................. 42 Key Sources of Economic Impact....................................................................... 45 Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. ......................................... 46 The Jade and Gemstone Mining Industry ............................................... 47 Oil and Gas Imports ................................................................................ 50 The Timber Sector .................................................................................. 50 III. Strategic Constitutional Maneuvers .................................................................... 53 IV. Citizenship Laws and the Illusion of a Collective National Identity .................. 59 V. Ceasefire Agreements and the Perpetuation of a Military-Oriented State .......... 71 VI. The Post-Democratization Era: Continued Military Control .............................. 79 Strategic Control of Information ........................................................................ 80 Community Organizations ...................................................................... 80 Propaganda .............................................................................................. 84 iv