The Constitution of Myanmar: A Contextual Analysis (in Burmese)

This timely and accessible book is the first to provide a thorough analysis of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar (Burma) in its historical, political and social context. The book identifies and articulates the principles of the Constitution through an in-depth analysis of legal and political processes and practices, particularly since the 1990s. The core argument of this book is that the 2008 Constitution is crucial to the establishment and maintenance of the military-state. The military-state promotes the leadership role of the military in governance based on a set of ideological commitments and a centralised form of organisation based on the concept of the Union. The book develops this argument by demonstrating how the process of constitution-making and the substance of the 2008 Constitution contribute to its lack of credibility and fuel demands for reform. The vision offered by the 2008 Constitution and its associated institutions has been the subject of fierce contestation, not least, for example, due to concerns over the militarisation of the state. This book is animated by debates over fundamental ideas such as the nature of democracy, the possibility of peace and federalism, the relationship between the executive and the legislature, relations between the Union government and sub-national governments, debates over judicial independence and the oversized role of the Tatmadaw (armed forces). Central to the future of the Constitution and the military-state is the role of the Tatmadaw, which will be a key determinant in any potential shift from the present highly centralised, partly-democratic Union to a federal or decentralised democratic system of governance

The Rise and Decline of Constitutionalism in the Global South: The Case of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court

Studies of constitutionalism in the Global South often chart the rise and achievements of liberal constitutionalism. In this contribution, I suggest that we also need to consider the decline of constitutional democracy as part of studies of constitutionalism in the Global South. Since the book Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia was published, the decline of constitutional democracy in Indonesia has worsened. In this contribution I question the symbolism of the Constitutional Court, examine Indonesia’s place in global scholarship, and demonstrating how the recent 2023 Constitutional Court crisis requires us to reassess the future of constitutional democracy in Indonesi

Rediscovering Law in Myanmar: A Review of Scholarship on the Legal System of Myanmar

Myanmar’s legal system is an understudied area in the academic field of Asian Legal Studies. This article aims to provide a map of legal scholarship in Myanmar that can be built on in the future. It identifies the key issues and arguments that have driven research on law in Myanmar, and the central academics whose oeuvre of publications have sustained the field. It is organized around four broad themes: custom, religion, and the law; public law and governance; corporate law; and the politics of law. It suggests that in order to build the next generation of legal scholarship, future research on Myanmar law must be grounded in its social, political, and historical context. This type of research requires the rediscovery of “law” in Myanmar by engaging with the existing body of social science literature on Burma Studies more generally

Australia's Asia Education Imperative: Trends in the study of Asia and pathways for the future

For about half a century, Australia has been a global leader in the study of Asia. The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) is the peak academic association for the study of Asia in Australia. This ASAA report is the fifth report since the 1970s. The report focuses on trends in the promotion of Asia literacy in Australian universities from 2000 to 2022, outlining both achievements and challenges. The report identifies a decline in government and, in many cases, university support, pointing to growing challenges in Australia’s efforts to promote Asia literacy among Australian graduates at a time that Asia’s global prominence and influence is more obvious than ever. The report proposes a set of recommendations to the government and to universities in order to renew and strengthen national commitment to Asia literacy

Concurrent Emergencies in Authoritarian Regimes: Law, Emergency Powers and Military Overreach during COVID-19 in Myanmar. International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries experienced concurrent emergencies that intensified the social impact of the pandemic on society. This report focuses on Myanmar as an example of how the quasi-civilian and military regimes used different constitutional and legislative measures to respond to the pandemic, and the impact these measures had on society. The report provides a brief overview of emergency powers in Myanmar. The report then examines the legal measures taken during the National League for Democracy (NLD) government (2020-21) and then by the military regime after the coup from February 2021 to 2022. It finds that the NLD government avoided the use of constitutional emergency powers to prevent a military takeover, and instead used executive power under existing laws. Its approach was similar to countries in the Global South that attempted to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the economy by limiting the scale and scope of lockdowns given the high levels of social fragility and vulnerability. In contrast, the 2021 military coup produced a concurrent emergency that led to the militarisation of emergency powers. The military claimed (incorrectly) to use constitutional emergency powers but did so for the sake of regaining control of the state. The military also used law as a weapon against political opponents, often directly contrary to the aims of reducing COVID-19, such as the widespread imprisonment of doctors and nurses. Myanmar is an example of the complexities associated with the pandemic response in military regimes and fragile or failed states

Presence of protozoa in Oklahoma City parks: Theileria cervi and Babesia sp. coco

Babesia and Theileria spp. are tick transmitted protozoa parasites affecting various animals worldwide. Theileria cervi affects the white tailed deer populations of the United States, particularly fawns, and Babesia sp. coco was recently described and affects dogs in the United States. Ticks were collected from 15 sites in the Oklahoma City area and screened using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. T. cervi, B. sp. coco, and a possible Babesia sp. were detected in the ticks, and a notable difference in prevalence rates was present in 3 sites. The presence of these pathogens suggests that their natural hosts are also present in the area, though more investigation is required to determine the source of these populations

Association between indigenous status and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Australian adults: Does sleep duration affect the relationship?

Background: Overweight/obesity is a well-defined risk factor for a variety of chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Sleep duration has been associated with overweight/obesity and other cardio metabolic and neurocognitive problems. Notably, overweight/obesity and many of the associated comorbidities are prevalent in Indigenous Australians. Generally, sleep duration has been associated with BMI for Australian adults but information about Australian Indigenous adults’ sleep is scant. A recent report established that sleep is a weak predictor of obesity for Indigenous Australian adults. Aim: To determine whether sleep remains a predictor of obesity when physical activity, diet and smoking status are accounted for; and to determine whether sleep duration plays a mediating role in the relationship between Indigenous status and BMI. Methods: Statistical analyses of 5,886 Australian adults: 5236 non-Indigenous and 650 Indigenous people aged over 18 years who participated in the Australian Health Survey 2011–2013. Demographic and lifestyle characteristics were described by χ2 and t-tests. ANOVA was used to determine the variables that significantly predicted BMI and sleep duration. Stepwise regression analyses were performed to determine the strongest significant predictors of BMI. Sleep duration was self-reported; BMI was calculated from measurement. Results: The study revealed two main findings: (i) short sleep duration was an independent predictor of obesity (adjusted-R2 = 0.056, p <0.0001); and (ii) controlling for sleep duration and other possible confounders, Indigenous status was a significant predictor of BMI overweight/obesity. Sleep duration played a weak, partial mediator role in this relationship. Increased BMI was associated with lower socioeconomic status and level of disadvantage of household locality for non-remote Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Conclusion: Indigenous status strongly predicted increased BMI. The effect was not mediated by the socioeconomic indicators but was partially mediated by sleep duration