Return of the Junta: Why Myanmar’s Military Must Go Back to the Barracks

by Oliver Slow, Paul French (Series Editor)

On the first day of February 2021, Myanmar's military grabbed power in a coup d'etat, ending a decade of reforms that were supposed to break the shackles of military rule in Myanmar. Protests across the country were met with a brutal crackdown that shocked the world but were a familiar response from an institution that has ruled the country with violence and terror for decades.

Return of the Junta is a detailed account of the ways that Myanmar's military – the Tamatdaw - has maintained control over its people despite a decade of supposed reform. In this detailed account, drawing on first-hand accounts from activists, jouralists and politicians, Oliver Slow explores the measures the military has used to keep hold of power and the motivations of those now rising up against its rule. The book asks the what needs to be done to remove the military from power in Myanmar once and for all?

256 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 2023

Reviews

[Austin Barselau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oliver Slow’s Return of the Junta is a poignant paean to the indefatigable spirit of the Myanmar people in the face of repressive rule by the country’s military junta, the Tatmadaw. Slow, a journalist writing on Southeast Asian affairs, has written a gripping exposé of the junta’s pattern of committing genocide against the country's ethnic minorities, from indiscriminate shooting, point-blank executions, airstrikes on villages, and burning people alive. Slow describes a country burdened by decades of colonial rule, civil strife, and economic insecurity, with only fleeting instances of democratic rule – only to be fractured by the Tatmadaw’s unwelcomed return to power. Despite these challenges, Slow speaks of the popular resistance against the junta, which has included acts of civil disobedience and the formation of local militias conducting guerrilla operations. While progress in Myanmar has been stifled at least temporarily, Slow’s fieldwork journalism shows that the spirit of country's popular resistance remains incorrigible.

[Ainiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory look into the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's military that has pretty much ruled the country since its independence in 1948. Starting as an anti-colonial force, it has evolved into a violent brutalist regime that rules by force with impunity. Its all-reaching impact across education, economy and society as a whole has left the population devastated, yet they continue to fight against the military coup of 2021.

My favourite parts of the book was the author's own experiences and insights, particularly when he visited the Rohingya refugee camps. He acknowledges his own thoughts and feelings and expresses disappointment at the international community for not doing more.

My main gripes with the book are mainly editorial - you can tell the various chapters were written separately because the same point is often repeated across several chapters with almost the exact same language. Some factual information is repeated so often you wonder if the reader's attention span should be this short? Also minus 0.5 stars because his introduction to Bangladesh was "Dhaka is not an easy city to love" _le sigh_

[Erin Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

very lucky to have read an advanced copy of this from Oliver Slow. Brilliant look at the terrifying hooks the Tatmadaw has had in Myanmar for decades and how impunity led to the situation Myanmar is now in. Well done to Slow and everyone he spoke with who, under immense conditions, have generously shared their harrowing experiences and views that are very dangerous at this point. Fantastic work - will be recommending for years!

[Victor Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burma is an extraordinarily complicated country. Mr. Slow tells the story of the recent coup and ongoing civil war in a very clear way. At the end of WWII Burma was the leading economy in the region. The military government that came to power in the vacuum after the war put an end to Burma's prosperity. Now engaged in a civil war this story is about how the various ethnic groups are trying to bring some measure of democratic government to Burma for the first time in 80 years.