The Quest for Federalism in Myanmar

Nehginpao Kipgen

Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen is Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at the Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. read more

The question of autonomy or self-determination in Myanmar goes back to the country’s pre-independence era. It is an important historical issue which unified and divided the country. The idea of forming a union government that would grant equal status to all citizens brought together different ethnic groups at the Panglong conference in 1947. However, the country’s conflicts remain and efforts are on to address the decades-old problems. One possible solution widely discussed is federalism. This article analyzes different federal systems and argues that a non-territorial form of federalism could best address the grievances of ethnic minorities because of the scattered population of several ethnic groups across different geographical regions.