War and Peace in the Borderlands of Myanmar: The Kachin Ceasefire, 1994-2011.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Author: South, Ashley
• Date: 01 April 2017

War and Peace in the Borderlands of Myanmar: The Kachin Ceasefire, 1994-2011. Edited by Mandy Sadan. Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2016. Softcover: 517pp.

This collection of essays on the historical precedents, anthropology, political economy and prospects of conflict and peace in Kachin State, Northern Myanmar makes an outstanding contribution to the literature. It should be regarded as essential reading on these issues, together with the editor, Mandy Sadan's earlier account of Kachin histories (Being and Becoming Kachin: Histories Beyond the State in the Borderworlds of Burma, Oxford University Press 2013, reviewed in the December 2015 issue of Contemporary Southeast Asia).

Sadan has brought together a diverse and stimulating collection of voices, ranging from well-established analysts to first-time authors. Veteran Myanmar-watcher Martin Smith provides a comprehensive overview of and reflection on the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) ceasefire with the government between 1994 and 2011, arguing that it should be seen in the larger historical context of fluctuating but deeply inequitable relations between the Myanmar government and the military, and minority communities (pp. 57-91). Representatives of a younger generation of Myanmar scholars include Matt Walton, who provides a useful conclusion (pp. 461-72), and Lee Jones (pp...