Abstract

Burma’s long-running ethnic conflicts are less well-known than the (predominantly urban-based) struggle for democracy. Ashley South provides a comprehensive background of ethnic politics in Burma, and argues that, in order to understand its complexity, it is necessary to look beyond the ‘usual suspects’ of Western-oriented rebel groups and refugees, based along the Thailand border.

Ashley South is an independent writer and consultant who specializes in ethnic politics and humanitarian challenges in Southeast Asia, particulary Burma, Thailand, Laos and the Philippines. Ashley has worked with the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium, the Human Rights Watch, the UNDP and the UN World Food Programme. He has also published extensively on Burma and wider problems of diversity in Southeast Asia, with some of the best publishers, including Routledge and Oxford University Press.

For further information on Ashley and his publications, see http://www.ashleysouth.co.uk/