AbstractsPolitical Science

Since the inauguration of President Thein Sein in March 2011, Myanmar has adopted remarkable democratic reforms in a transition from military to democratic rule. Informed by the literature on democratic transitions, this thesis examines which factors motivated Myanmar’s military regime to commence on a transition towards democracy. This examination of Myanmar’s democratic transition is structured around an identified division between competing arguments within the literature on democratic transitions. One group of scholars emphasise the importance of internal factors as decisive when authoritarian regimes transition towards democracy, while another group of scholars emphasise external factors. Through a deductive research strategy, concepts emphasising internal and external factors will be applied to the case of Myanmar’s democratic transition, in order to comprehensively assess which of these two competing arguments best explain Myanmar’s democratic transition. I found that internal factors are best applied to the case of Myanmar’s regime-controlled transition. A political momentum for regime softliners to instigate democratic reforms was identified, as perceived threats had decreased, key interests were safeguarded and an elite pact was established between President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi. I found that external factors were unable to explain Myanmar’s democratic transition, as there was not found a link between democratisation and socioeconomic development, and CSOs had a minimal impact on instigating democratic reforms. Moreover, I found that while economic sanctions were unable to create regime change through economic punishment, they indirectly impacted the democratic transition through increased dependence on China.