When long-suffering pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as
State Councillor in a landslide in 2015, many hoped that Myanmar’s decades of struggle against authoritarianism might be settled by a period of fair, inclusive, and competent governance.
However, since 2015, the more than 70-year-old conflict between the central state and rebel groups seeking self-determination from the Myanmar government has escalated, almost a million members of the Rohingya minority have fled the country, arrests of journalists have increased, and the nature of governance has changed less than many hoped.
This presentation will describe **four major challenges **Myanmar will confront in the next 12 months. _First_, violence in the world’s oldest civil war has recently been increasing, driven by the rapid growth of the Arakan Army, active in the far west of the country. The peace process, which seemed to have some momentum in 2015, is widely seen as stalled. _Second_, the repercussions of the ongoing genocide
of Rohingya Muslims continue to be felt in the condemnation of much of the international community. _Third_, the country is scheduled to hold general elections in November, only the third since 1990. _Fourth_, the effects of coronavirus, which has already led to significant hardship in Myanmar, will continue to shake the foundations of the country’s economy and health-system.
