Myanmar’s Political Transition and Lost Opportunities

by Ye Htut

This book is about the politics of Myanmar under the reformist president Thein Sein. After taking office in March 2011, Thein Sein initiated the bloodless Myanmar Spring. He was able to transform Myanmar into a more transparent and dynamic society, bring Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition activists into the political process, initiate a peace process with the ethnic armed organizations, reintegrate Myanmar into the international community after five decades of isolation, and, most importantly, for the first time since the country regained independence in 1948, he was able to enact the peaceful transfer of power from one elected government to another. But Thein Sein also lost opportunities to deliver what the people anticipated, and he failed to bring his USDP party to victory in the 2015 election. This book is not about the successes of the Thein Sein administration. Rather, it examines the reasons behind the lost opportunities in the transition to democracy. It draws on the author’s experiences as a member of Thein Sein’s cabinet as well as on extensive interviews with other cabinet members and politicians involved in the crucial events that took place between 2010 and 2016. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in this critical period of change for Myanmar.

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2019

Reviews

[Krrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thein Sein government attempted to establish a benchmark for open, listening and responsive government. But everyone thought the new government’s reforms as quasi-military regime—the same old wine in a new bottle. The shadow of the past hung heavily on the future of Myanmar’s Spring. U Thein Sein started reforms beyond every expectation but lost opportunities to deliver what the people anticipated.

[Arkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

U Ye Htut gives an insightful and rare insider’s glimpse into the inner workings of the USDP and Myanmar’s first “democratically elected” government of 2011.

While almost every book on Myanmar’s political landscape was written by a foreigner or an outside “expert” looking in, this book stands apart because it was written by U Ye Htut, former military colonel and Minister of Information during U Thein Sein’s leadership.

I got this book primarily because I wanted to learn from someone with real on-the-grounds experiences, hopefully learning some things that will help me connect the dots to the occurrence of the coup of February 2021. This short book mainly focuses on the pre and during of U Thein Sein’s government but highlights the fractures in the military leadership even from this early stage that may have led to the landslide results of the 2020 election. One also gets a glimpse into the thinkings and aspirations of some of the key military persons during this democratization process.

What this book lacks is (in my humble opinion) a less biased perspective against U Thura Shwe Mann. Throughout the entire book, it was clearly one sided on the Thein Sein camp and it would have been great if the author could have taken a more neutral stand weighing both sides’ political maneuvers.

An excellent book nevertheless that anyone interested in recent Myanmar politics must read.

[Random thoughts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kinda knew that the dictator had the best interntion for the country. How the execution went poorly and how bad his judgement of his people, and the yug of war for power dynamics are all spelled out here. It was a rare insider look at the first civilian government. Highly recommended! It's good to see a different perspective/narrative from one that we grew up with.