A01=Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung
agrarian political attitudes
agricultural policy analysis
Author_Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung
burma
Burma Socialist Program Party
burmese
Burmese Cultivators
Burmese Farmers
Burmese Peasants
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Category=JP
Central Government
chairman
comparative authoritarian studies
cultivators
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
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farmers
HYV Program
Ian Brown
Irrawaddy Division
Irrigation Department
Land Reclamation
Land Record Department
Land Record Officials
military regime rural impact
Ne Win
paddy
peasant society Southeast Asia
Pegu Division
Rangoon Division
rice
Rice Farmers
rural Burma political legitimacy case study
rural governance structures
Sagaing Division
Saya San Rebellion
State Societal Interactions
State Societal Relationships
summer
Summer Paddy
upper
village
Village Chairman
Village Tract
Product details
- ISBN 9781138964532
- Weight: 453g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 04 Aug 2016
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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First published in 2006. Behind the Teak Curtain, the first fieldwork-based study of Burmese rural politics and development, examines the specific circumstances under which one of the most repressive and authoritative governments in the world enjoys popularity in the countryside. The book analyzes four different agricultural policies that have been implemented under the Burmese military regime since 1978, and examines their consequential and varying impacts on rice farmers' attitudes toward central and local authorities. Behind the Teak Curtain provides first-hand information on Burmese rice farmers' conceptualization of political legitimacy, their political goals and priorities, and their relationships with central government authorities and local officials. This work seeks to challenge conventional studies on Burma, which focus on the behavior and actions of the military elite in Rangoon and treat the military regime as a unitary actor. It will be shown how and why the same autocratic and repressive military leaders who are perceived by a particular sector of the population as illegitimate may, at the same time, be favorably seen and accepted by another group of citizens. Finally, this study draws out the implications of these findings for other authoritarian governments in developing societies. It will demonstrate a more comprehensive foundation of legitimacy in authoritarian countries by highlighting the varying perceptions and attitudes in society toward central government authorities, toward local officials, and the different bases of legitimacy enjoyed by these two different levels of authority. Behind the Teak Curtain will interest anthropologists, sociologists, and historians interested in agrarian communities including peasant culture and political attitudes, particularly those with interest in Burma and Southeast Asia. This book is also targeted at agricultural economists and development theorists who are concerned with agricultural promotion and rural development. It sheds light on the problems inherent in the administrative structure of the military government, and how they hamper effective implementation of agricultural policies. Finally, this project will provide a comparative case study for those who study authoritarian regimes, military governments, and Third World countries.
Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, a native of Burma, is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She came to the United States in 1990 to pursue her education after the Burmese military government closed down all universities and colleges for fear of students’ call for democracy. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University-Fort-Wayne, and master’s degree in International Relations from Yale University. Her Ph.D in political science is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Behind the Teak Curtain is the product of her one-year field research project in Burma in 1999, and two week- interviews in 2002.
