Naw Sea Blue Dah
Kawthoolei State: Karen National Union's Quest for Broader Representation and Governance Legitimacy in Post-Coup Myanmar
Abstract
The nationwide uprisings in response to the military coup of February 21, 2021, and the subsequent violent crackdown on peaceful protests and civil disobedience rapidly transformed into a “People’s Revolution.” Very early on, especially after the ruthless crackdown by the junta, it was clear that the people of Myanmar are not only fighting to restore the pre-coup status quo but also to turn a new chapter for the country. Despite the immeasurable loss of lives and livelihoods, many view this as a historic opportunity to rectify nearly 80 years of failed nation-building and to create a new country. After unanimously abolishing the military-drafted 2008 constitution, a coalition of pro-democracy groups drafted the Federal Democracy Charter (FDC) to establish an interim governance framework capable of containing the junta’s administration, alongside armed struggles against its atrocities. In just over two years after the coup, the pro-democratic alliance has begun to adopt a bottom-up approach to realize their federal democratic vision. The Karenni took the first practical step by establishing an interim state government in June 2023. The Karen National Union (KNU) publicly announced in August 2023 its intention to establish the state of Kawthoolei as a unit of a federal democratic union. Likewise, Magway and Sagaing in central dry zones expressed desire for self-determination. This led Myanmar watchers to think that the country is in fragmentation or even falling apart. On the contrary, this paper argues that such desires and efforts should be viewed as parts and parcels of building a critical foundation for the formation of a thriving federal democracy. In this context, this paper examines KNU as a long-standing non-state governance actor before and after the coup and how it attempts to understand its evolving vision for Kawthoolei, along with the steps it is taking to broaden representation, strengthen governance, consolidate territorial gains, and thereby enhance its legitimacy. By extension, this can be viewed as taking care of its shared duty toward national level pro-democratic nation and state building.
Biography