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12/16/25, 10:44 AM TOPICS Beyond Ballots: The Junta Chief’s Elite Management Strategy Ahead of Myanmar’s Elections | ISP-Myanmar ISP EVENTS MEDIA ISP GABYIN All ISP Products (https://ispmyanmar.com/isp-products/) ISP ISP Tracker (https://ispmyMore OPINION (HTTPS://ISPMYANMAR.COM/CATEGORY/OPINION/) Beyond Ballots: The Junta Chief’s Elite Management Strategy Ahead of Myanmar’s Elections A s Myanmar’s junta-led elections approach in December, the junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is consolidating his power and strategically managing the military elites to preserve his control. BY NAING MIN KHANT | DECEMBER 12, 2025 Privacy - Terms https://ispmyanmar.com/beyond-ballots-the-junta-chiefs-elite-management-strategy-ahead-of-myanmars-elections/ 1/9

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Beyond Ballots: The Junta Chief’s Elite Management Strategy Ahead of Myanmar’s Elections

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2025 elections
Sham Election

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Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar ( ISP Myanmar )

Date Published: Dec 12, 2025

Abstract: As Myanmar’s junta-led elections approach in December, the junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is consolidating his power and strategically managing the military elites to preserve his control. Historical precedents of elite management by Myanmar’s junta leaders demonstrate how these power plays can determine regime survival or collapse. Analyzing the junta’s internal shifts today provides insights into the regime’s stability and into how Min Aung Hlaing uses the elections to reinforce his dominance.

While much of the current debate around Myanmar’s upcoming elections focuses on rigging, legitimacy, and the resistance’s response, a critical aspect is often overlooked: the junta chief’s sophisticated strategy for managing internal power within the military.

In the lead-up to the polls, the junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has been deploying calculated elite management tactics to mitigate grievances among senior officers and preempt potential power struggles within the military. The interplay between leaders and their circle of inner elites is one of the foundations of regime stability in a dictatorship. How those at the top manage the composition, responsibilities, and hierarchy of elites often determines whether the regime will survive or collapse. The junta chief appears to be aware of this dynamic. Instead of relying solely on repression or coercion, he has pursued a more calculated approach, one rooted in elite management. Elite management does not exclude repression or coercion. It is not only about persuasion and incentives; it may also involve various methods such as coercion, divide and rule, persuasion, and more to manage elite politics.

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Beyond Ballots: The Junta Chief’s Elite Management Strategy Ahead of Myanmar’s Elections

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