Over the Borderline
Insight Myanmar10 Kesä 2025

Over the Borderline

Episode #353: Professor Lahra Smith, a political science professor specializing in East Africa at Georgetown University, argues that Myanmar’s current struggles must be seen within a global framework of colonial legacies, using Sudan as a comparative case. While acknowledging contextual differences, Smith shows how both countries were shaped by British colonial rule that hardened ethnic divisions, created infrastructure disparities, and entrenched political inequalities.

Sudan lies within Africa’s so-called "coup belt," illustrating a broader dissatisfaction with post-colonial governance and foreign interference. Like Myanmar, Sudan has suffered from military coups that initially promised reform but quickly descended into new forms of repression. Smith discusses how colonial policies divided Sudanese society along racial and religious lines, just as British colonialism in Myanmar entrenched ethnic and religious hierarchies that still drive conflict today.

Colonialism’s infrastructural and missionary legacies further marginalized Sudan’s peripheries, fostering grievances that exploded into civil wars and the eventual, troubled independence of South Sudan. Similarly, Myanmar’s marginalized ethnic regions remain flashpoints for conflict. Smith stresses the need to move beyond thinking in terms of static land borders and recognize the deeper regional and cultural continuities that colonial boundaries disrupted.

Ultimately, Smith emphasizes that identities and nations are constantly evolving, and that just drawing new lines on maps to replace the old, artificial, colonial ones will not solve the problems caused by the colonial experience. She stresses that genuine understanding requires recognizing this fluidity.

Jaksot(508)

The French Connection

The French Connection

Episode #189: Nan Su Mon Aung took on a significant role to support her country and government by agreeing to become the NUG Representative in France. Despite acknowledging the challenges and responsi...

15 Syys 20231h 9min

Picturing a Revolution

Picturing a Revolution

Episode #188: Min Ma Naing, a photojournalist and narrative visual artist, stumbled onto her path accidentally. While studying in Hong Kong, she often went to a park to take a break from the strain, w...

12 Syys 20231h 56min

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Episode #187: Guillaume de Langre, a former adviser to the Myanmar Ministry of Electricity and Energy, paints a bleak picture of the country’s multiple, overlapping, energy crises. He describes how th...

5 Syys 20231h 34min

A Double Minority

A Double Minority

Episode #186: “The term ‘double minority’ simply means a ‘minority within minority,’” Christopher Win explains. “Rakhine is an ethnic minority group in Myanmar, and Maramagyi is an even smaller group ...

1 Syys 20231h 12min

From Reconciliation to Resistance

From Reconciliation to Resistance

Episode #185: Alan Clements returns to the podcast, this time to talk about his recent book, Burma’s Voices of Freedom in Conversation with Alan Clements: An Ongoing Struggle for Democracy, a four-vol...

29 Elo 20232h 21min

Rising Above Borders

Rising Above Borders

Episode #184: One of six siblings, Tu Lor Eh Paw grew up in a bamboo hut in a tiny village in Karen state. Her mother was a local Karen Christian missionary, and Tu Lor grew up celebrating Christian h...

25 Elo 202351min

Pabhassaro Bhikkhu

Pabhassaro Bhikkhu

Episode #183: Sebastian Copija began his journey amid the mesmerizing mountains and bountiful nature of his southern Poland home. Through the years, he developed a strong interest in American and Brit...

22 Elo 20232h 7min

The Dark Side of Teak

The Dark Side of Teak

Episode #182: “If you're a millionaire, or a billionaire, you want the best,” says Timo Schober, a German-based journalist who works at Papertrail Media, “and the best is natural grown teak [from Myan...

15 Elo 20231h 9min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
viisupodi
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-asiastudio
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
aihe
radio-antro
rss-kiina-ilmiot
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-vain-talouselamaa
the-ulkopolitist
rss-kovin-paikka
rss-sanna-ukkola-show-verkkouutiset