Examining the interplay between ethnicity/ethnic diversity and politics. For our Southeast Asian Politics class (comparative politics).

1. Ethnicity and Politics
in Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia
UP DILIMAN POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS

2. Ethnicity

3. Ethnicity
A group of people who share an understanding of a common
heritage based on religion, language, territory, or family ties.

4. Ethnicity as Political Identity
Function of non-economic group differences.
Mobilization will occur along non-economic status group lines.

5. Political Cleavage
A deep and lasting salient dimension of political
conflict and competition within a given society, such as
religion, ethnicity, ideology, or other forms of identity.

6. Approaches to Ethnicity
● Primordialism
● Constructivism

7. Primordialism
An approach to understanding identity
which assumes that identities are
something people are born with or that
emerge through deep psychological
processes in early childhood, given
one’s family and community context.

8. Kinship Bonds
A connection to others
formed by blood, marriage,
or other family relations.

9. Conditions for Politicization
Result of deep psychological attachments individuals feel
toward members of a broader community.
Collective mobilization occurs when groups perceive a
threat to the continued practice of their collective identity.

10. Criticisms
Cannot explain variation in the emergence or
change in the politicization of identity.
Cannot explain how or why individuals and
groups change identities over time.

11. Constructivism
An approach to understanding identity which
assumes that political identities are malleable,
even if they often appear to be primordial, and
suggests that we think of identity as an
evolving political process rather than as a
fixed set of identity categories.

12. Individual Choice
Interest in attaching political
importance to their identities.
Based on the social context.

13. Conditions for Politicization
Long-term social, economic, or
technological change.
Outcome of interests.

14. Criticisms
Inability to make sense of the way most people
perceive their own identities.
No precise mechanism by which identity
becomes politically salient for millions of people.

15. Thailand

16. Ethnic Profile
70 ethnic groups, 7 major ethnic groups:
Thai (91.5%), Khmer (2.3%), Malay (2.1%), Bamar
(1.5%), Karen (0.6%), Chinese (0.4%), Hmong (0.3%).

17. Thai
Migrated around 8th to 10th Century.
Theravada Buddhists.

18. Khmer
Native to Cambodia.
Speak the Khmer language.
Khmer variation of Buddhism.
Oldest ethnic group in Southeast Asia.
Give importance to religion.

19. Malay
Found in Southern Thailand.
Sunni Muslims.
Coastal Traders.
Give importance to clothing.

20. Bamar
Dominantly from Myanmar.
Follow a mixture of Theravada Buddhism and Burmese
folk religion.

21. Government’s Attitude and Policies Towards Ethnicity
Karen
● Laissez Faire Policy
● 1951 Committee for the
Welfare of People in Remote
Areas
● 1959 Hill Tribe Welfare
Committee (HTWC)
● 1969 Short-term Policy
● 1969 Long-term Policy
Thai
● Policy-induced settlement of
previously unoccupied land
● Development of policies
directed at protecting
watersheds and certain classes
of forest lands
● Thailandization

22. Policy Outcomes on Ethnicity
Division between Myanmar and
Thailand
● Development of Karen conflict
(Karen National Union vs.
Burmese government)
● Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army
● Refugee Crisis
Dominate majority of Thai
institutions
● Thai cultural program through
education.
● Intersectionality (adoption &
harmonization of other ethnic
cultures).
● Cultural Activities

23. Indonesia

24. Ethnic Profile
● Standing as the world’s 4th largest
country, Indonesia has a population
and diversity to match with
upwards of 300 ethnic groups
● Natural barriers around the
archipelago have assured distinct
characters among them
● Essential to their identity is the
religion they follow

25. ● The Javanese civilization
stands as the largest ethnic
group in the country
● Followed by a majority of
Sundanese
● Other ethnicities stand at
around 2-3% of the
population
Ethnic Profile

26. History of Ethnic
Conflict

27. Timeline
Poso Riots
Dec 1998 - Dec 2001
Maluku sectarian
conflict
Dec 1998 - Dec 2001
Sambas Riots
1999
Sampit conflict
February 2001
Tarakan Riots
September 2010

28. Poso Riots
● Primarily a religious conflict but
had underlying ethnic tensions
● Poso regency (with a Muslim
majority) held the region but it
was going through many state
changes at the time
● Highland ethnic groups were
Protestant
● Communal violence erupted
between Muslim majority and
Protestant minority

29. Malino I Declaration
● Peace treaty
● Initially unsuccessful
● Over time, calls to honor the
agreement were made

30. Maluku Sectarian Conflict
● Reformasi opened the possibility
of secession for a number of
Northern islands in the Maluku
archipelago
● Tensions were economic,
customary and ethnic
● Presence of organized semi-crime
groups made this more alarming

31. Malino II Accord
● Strengthened Malino I by showing
continuation of state policy
● Was initially resisted by Muslim
parties
● Residents of Ambon were eager
for its execution

32. Sambas Riots
● Recognized as an ethnic conflict
from the get-go
● Transmigration program provides
critical consequences yet again
● Government policy made clashes
worse
● Sampit Conflict showed a
resurgence of violence

33. Tarakan Riot
● Ethnic conflict between Tidung
people and Bugis migrants
● Consequence of patronage
politics
● Government action involved a
series of peace talks

34. Myanmar

35. Ethnic Profile
● 135 ethnic groups divided into 8 major ethnic races: Burman,
Mon, Karen, Shan, Kachin, Chin, and Rakhine
○ Minority groups make up 30-40 percent of the
population
○ No reliable population figures

36. Ethnic Profile
● The controversial 2008 Constitution divides the country into
seven regions, seven “ethnic states,” and six new
“self-administered areas”
■ Majority of the regions are occupied by Burmans
■ The seven states reflect the seven major minority
ethnic groups
■ SA areas are: Naga, Danu, Pao, Palaung, Kokang,
and Wa Self-Administered Zones

37. Ethnic Conflict

38. Ethnic Conflict
● Myanmar has been affected by ethnic conflict and civil war since its
independence in 1948
● The situation worsened after the military coup in 1962, where
minority rights were further curtailed
● Ethnic minority groups have been marginalized, resulting in armed
opposition groups fighting the central government for autonomy and
ethnic rights

39. Main Grievances
Lack of influence in
the decision-making
process
What they perceive
as “Burmanization
policies” since their
independence
Absence of
economic and social
development in their
areas

40. Conflict Dynamics
● What the nature of the state
should be, and how state
power connects with the
periphery
● How the state is governed,
and the absolute control held
by the military over all three
branches
● The country’s most obvious
divide is between the Burman
majority and the ethnic
minorities, but there are also
conflicts amongst the ethnic
minorities

41. Ethnic Land Rights
● The nonrecognition of ethnic land
rights is also a key concern
○ Successive Burmese
governments have oppressed
ethnic peoples and colonized
their lands

42. How relevant is ethnicity to peace and national
development?

43. The Peace Agenda
● Since the end of 2011, the government has initiated peace talks
with the major ethnic armed opposition groups
● Government negotiators have taken a more conciliatory approach,
focusing on trust, and acknowledging that previous ceasefires
have not been successful
● However, there are renewed conflicts with other groups

44. What is the
status of ethnic
conflict in
Myanmar today?

45. Myanmar Today
Security forces
continue to commit
grave abuses to the
Rohingya Muslims
The ruling NLD party
and Aung San Suu
Kyi stifled dissent in a
series of repressive
laws
Over 30,000 civilians
have been displaced
by fighting in Kachin
and Shan states

46. Myanmar Indonesia Thailand
Amount of ethnic
diversity
● 135 ethnic groups ● 300 ethnic groups ● 70 ethnic groups
Ethnic majorities ● The majority are
ethnically Burman and
predominantly Buddhist
● Javanese, Sundanese,
Batak, Madurese.
● Population is
predominantly Muslim
● Thai
● Mostly Theravada
Buddhists
Historical level of
peace among
ethnicities
● Ethnic conflict is a direct
legacy of British rule
● Worsened after the
military coup in 1962
● During Suharto reign,
levels of peace were at a
normal level (but this
could be attributed to the
low attempts to air out
anger or concerns)
● Reformasi opened the
floodgates for many
ethnic conflicts to occur
● Migration conflicts
● Legacy of colonial
history
● Escalated in the 1960s

47. Myanmar Indonesia Thailand
Reasons for ethnic
conflicts
● Burmese religious
nationalism
● Militarization and
nonrecognition of
ethnic land rights
● Transmigration program
continued by gov’t
● Suppressed anger
● Land scarcity
● Bias towards the Thai
Gov’t action towards
ethnic conflicts
● Peace talks and
ceasefires
● Panglong Conference
● Malino I Declaration
● Malino II Declaration
● Numerous peace talks
● Notable is gov’t inaction
during the Sambas Riots
● Laissez Faire Policy
● 1951 Committee for
the Welfare of People in
Remote Areas
● 1959 Hill Tribe Welfare
Committee (HTWC)
● 1969 Short-term Policy
● 1969 Long-term Policy
For whom was gov’t
action directed
towards?
● Towards the major
ethnic armed opposition
groups
● Fair to both religious groups
but was coming from an elite
perspective in the Poso riots
● Gov’t established an arbiter
position for coming peace
talks
● Towards ethnic
minorities, mostly the
Karen

48. Myanmar Indonesia Thailand
Was gov’t action
successful?
● Peace talks will only
become successful if
they evolve into
inclusive national
political dialogue
● Peace process forum
remains stagnant
● Initially unsuccessful but
is currently functioning
for the Poso riots
● All peace talks are
currently standing
● No, conflict still ensues
today between the
government and the
Karen ethnic group.
Current level of
peace among
ethnicities
● Ethnic conflict remains
even after democratic
transition
● Tensions still run high but
parties manage to act civil
when needed
● Tensions high in
Thailand-Myanmar
border where majority
of Karen reside.

49. Thank you.

50. Sources
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-ethnic-groups-in-indonesia.html
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Indonesia_Ethnic_Groups_Map_English.svg
https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/ballots-not-bullets-former-muslim-militants-turn-to-politics-in-poso/