Living the Civil Disobedience Movement: An Examination of the Motivations and Consequences for Myanmar's University Teachers
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines what motivated university teachers in Myanmar to leave their secure positions in the academe and join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in the wake of the 2021 coup there. Using a phenomenological approach and semi-structured interviews with CDM university teachers, our findings reveal a high degree of idealism and the conviction that working under military rule would not be tenable. Our research looked at the lived experiences of and longer-term consequences for the university teacher CDM participants, an issue that has not received much scholarly attention. The themes that emerged include belief that the coup was unjust, concern for democratic backsliding and worries over the working conditions within universities under military rule, as well as personal safety concerns, economic hardships, social isolation, and repercussions in their professional lives. In communicating through the interviewees' words what it is like to continue to survive, our findings also allow us to identify some common issues. By looking at the economic and emotional, as well as professional, consequences of 'living CDM' and capturing insights into how people survive, we enrich post-coup Myanmar studies and the study of civil disobedience more widely.
Article Details
References
Allen, B. (2021). Civil Disobedience in Myanmar: An Analytical Reflection. Grace Brindle, Retrieved from https://gracebrindle.dgah.sites.carleton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Brindle-POSC-217-Essay.pdf
Anonymous. (2021). The Centrality of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Myanmar’s Post-Coup Era. Policy Briefing-SEABRO. New Mandala, New Perspectives on South East Asia, Retrieved from https://www.newmandala.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SEARBO_CDM-Myanmar_paper.pdf
Cemmell, J. (2009). (rep.). Academic Freedom International Study: Burma. University and College Union (UCU) & Education International, Retrieved from
Delmas, C., & Brownlee, K. (2023). Civil Disobedience. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/civil-disobedience/
Drechsler, W. (2021). New development: Myanmar’s civil service—Responsible disobedience during the 2021 military coup. Public Money & Management, 41(7), 577–580, Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1928948
Fishbein, E. (2023, August 29). Myanmar’s Striking Civil Servants: Displaced, Forgotten, but Holding On. Al Jazeera, Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/ news/2023/8/29/ myanmars-striking-civil-servants-displaced-forgotten-but-holding-on
Kamibeppu, T., & Chao, Jr., R. Y. (2017). Higher Education and Myanmar’s Economic and Democratic Development. International Higher Education, (88), pp. 19-20. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2017.88.9688
King, A. S. 2022. Myanmar’s Coup d’état and the Struggle for Federal Democracy and Inclusive Government. Religions, 13(7), 594. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070594
Moon (pseudonym). (2021, October 25). Targets of Oppression and Scrutiny: Being a University Teacher in Military-Ruled Myanmar. Tea Circle, Retrieved from https://teacircleoxford.com/essay/targets-of-oppression-and-scrutiny-being-a-university-teacher-in-military-ruled-myanmar/
National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG). (2021). (rep.). Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement: A History Endeavour for Peace and Democracy. Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), Retrieved from https://www.burmalibrary.org/sites/burmalibrary.org/files/obl/2021-09-17-210916_CDM_Report_edited-signed.pdf
Nora. (2023, February 10). The Crisis in Education Under Myanmar’s Military Rules. The Irrawaddy, Retrieved from https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/the-crisis-in-education-under-myanmars-military-rulers.html
Peterson, B. A. (2019). Educating for Social Justice: A Case for Teaching Civil Disobedience in Preparing Students to be Effective Activists, Democracy and Education, 27(2), Retrieved from https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol27/iss2/7/
Proserpio, L. (2022). Myanmar Higher Education in Transition: The Interplay between State Authority, Student Politics and International Actors (thesis), Retrieved from https://amsdottorato.unibo.it/10350/1/Dissertation_Licia_Proserpio.pdf
Proserpio, L., & Fiori, A. (2022). Myanmar Universities in the Post-Coup Era: The clash Between Old and New Visions of Higher Education. In G. Gabusi & R. Neironi (Eds.), Myanmar After the Coup: Resistance, Resilience, and Re-invention. Torino World Affairs Institute, Retrieved from https://www.twai.it/articles/myanmar-universities-post-coup-era/
Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice: Revised edition. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Retrieved from https://giuseppecapograssi.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/rawls99.pdf
San, S. (2021). Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Don’t Let the Light of Education Be Extinguished. Just Security, Retrieved from https://www.justsecurity.org/76921/beyond-the-coup-in-myanmar-dont-let-the-light-of-education-be-extinguished/
Scheuerman, W. E. (2022). Resisting Authoritarian Populism. Populism, 5(1), 1-20, Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1163/25888072-bja10029
Schock, K. (2021). Consequences of Civil Disobedience. In Thoreau, H. et al. (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Civil Disobedience (pp. 407-428). Cambridge University Press, Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108775748
Smith, M. (1992, December 10). Our Heads Are Bloody but Unbowed: Suppression of Educational Freedoms in Burma. Censorship News, (18), Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/art19/1992/en/52225
Smith, R., & Smith, L. (2018). Qualitative Methods. In L. McConnell, & R. Smith (Eds.), Research Methods in Human Rights, (pp. 70-93). London and New York: Routledge.
Soe, S.K.Z., & Anonymous. (2023). Ramifications of Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372110019_Ramifications_of_Myanmar_Civil_Disobedience_Movement?channel=doi&linkId=64a53b4fb9ed6874a5fb2dd7&showFulltext=true
Spring University Myanmar (SUM). (2022, April 30). Students and Teachers Need Help to Defy an Inhumane Regime. University World News, Retrieved from https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220426104332377
Spring University Myanmar (SUM). (2023). Higher Education in Post-Coup Myanmar, Retrieved from https://www.springuniversitymm.com/research-publications
Tarrow, S. G. (1998). Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press, Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/power-in-movement/E9FC85E59075F0705549710D6A8BD858
Vrieze, P. (2024). Movement Escalation and Mobilization for Resistance: From Anti-coup Protest to ‘People’s War’ in Myanmar. Journal of Political Geography, 114, Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S096262982400001X
Wai, K.S. (2022). Myanmar Universities in the Post-coup Era: The Competing Hands behind Myanmar’s 2021 Democratic Movement. In G. Gabusi & R. Neironi (Eds.), Myanmar After the Coup: Resistance, Resilience, and Re-invention. Torino World Affairs Institute, Retrieved from https://www.twai.it/articles/competing-hands-myanmars-2021-democratic-movement/
Wong, M. S., & Kareng, D. (2023). Creativity in crisis: Re-envisioning higher education in Myanmar’s Spring Revolution. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40299-023-00776-4
Zain, Z. M., & Yusoff, M. A. (2017). Civil Disobedience: Concept and Practice. Asian Social Science, 13(8), 129, Retrieved from https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/68260