Political Identity and the Collapse of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army

    Abstract: In August of 2009, the non-government military group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) was disarmed by the Myanmar central government, which means its dissolution. This article compares three similarly situated non government armed groups in Myanmar: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the United Wa State Army, and the Eastern Shan State Army. Based on this comparison, it argues that one of the underlying factors which led to the collapse of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army was its lack of a sense of political identity. On the basis of this case, the article proposes the general assumption that political identity is a necessary condition for a non-government armed force to survive within a sovereign state.

    Author: Zhang Weiyu is a PhD Student in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University