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Jennifer Richmond
Promises, Prospects and Prognostications for a Civil Society in Burma
It is often in the name of cultural integrity as well as social stability and national
security that democratic reforms based on human rights are resisted by authoritarian
governments. It is insinuated that some of the worst ills of western society are the result
of democracy, which is seen as the progenitor of unbridled freedom and selfish
individualism. It is claimed, usually without adequate evidence, that democratic values
and human rights run counter to the national culture, and therefore to be beneficial they
need to be modified—perhaps to the extent that they are barely recognizable. The people
are said to be as yet unfit for democracy, therefore and indefinite length of time has to
pass before democratic reforms can be instituted.
—Aung San Suu Kyi (Maung 1998, 15)
.
The prospect of civil society in Asia has been the subject of considerable
debate. Civil society is predominately a Western concept that, according to
Timothy Brook and Michael Frolic, “emerged in the eighteenth century in
Europe at a time when a new relationship between the society and the state was
evolving, as those who controlled capitalist production were seeking access to
political power (8).” This concept amassed substantial weight in Asia
particularly after the triumph of the Solidarity movement in Poland that
successfully introduced a civil society, helping to shape and create democratic
reform. Could this phenomenon be applicable in Burma, and is it a precursor to
pluralism and democracy?
After the fervor of civil society in the post-Communist and post-
totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe and Russia, the prospect and enthusiasm
for a vibrant civil society has been diminished; after the initial thrust of civil
society and the dismantling of authoritarian regimes, the strength of autonomous
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