Myanmar’s Military Mindset
Australia Myanmar Institute invites you to a scheduled Zoom meeting
Date: November 29, 2021 (Monday)
Duration: 1 hour
Time: 18:00-19:00 Australia/Melbourne Time (13:30-14:30 Myanmar/Yangon Time)
Join Zoom Meeting: please click here
Meeting ID: 2852417834
Passcode: 12345
Since the violent overthrow of Myanmar’s elected government on 1 February 2021 it has become imperative to understand better the mindset of the military which has dominated the country for several decades. An important research contribution examining the thinking and operations of Tatmadaw was written by Dr Andrew Selth in his paper “Myanmar’s Military Mindset”, published on 30 September 2021 by the Griffith Asia Institute. Dr Selth has agreed to speak to this research paper on 29 November, with comments to follow from a Myanmar political observer and then former Australian Ambassador Nicholas Coppel.
The research paper itself can be downloaded and viewed from this link. We encourage all interested in this subject to read it and base their comments and questions on it at what promises to be a very important session.
Dr Andrew Selth is an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute, in Brisbane. He has been studying international security issues and Asian affairs for nearly 50 years, as a diplomat, strategic intelligence analyst and research scholar. Dr Selth has published 10 books, 25 research papers and more than 50 peer-reviewed works, most of them about Myanmar and related subjects. He has also contributed to the public debate on Myanmar through numerous articles in newspapers, magazines and various online fora.
U Khaing Mar is a well-informed and reflective commentator in Myanmar. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture and an MBA. He used to be a National Consultant with several international institutions including ADB, ODI and others for their projects in Myanmar, and has a good understanding of the military mindset. Before the 2021 military coup, he was an adviser with the Myanmar Institute of Strategic & International Studies (MISIS). He joined many conferences on regional connectivity projects organized by various organizations both at home and abroad. He is dedicated to the life-long study of Chindia (the rise of China & India) for the future of ASEAN and Myanmar.
Nicholas Coppel is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University and former career diplomat. He was Australia’s Ambassador to Myanmar from 2015-2018 leading a team of 18 diplomatic staff and 80 local staff, and managing a $42million aid program. Between 2011 and 2013 Nicholas headed the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands in restoring law and order and governance in Solomon Islands after a period of ethnic tensions. He has also served as Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner in Port Moresby and Deputy Head of Mission in Manila, with an earlier posting in Washington DC. Nicholas is an AMI Special Adviser.
A question and answer session will be conducted after the presentation. For more information about AMI, please visit: aummi.edu.au/.
***NOTE: Zoom can work very well, but it poses difficulties for people with a poor internet connection. So, people from Myanmar (or elsewhere) who might have a poor internet connection or low bandwidth should turn off the video mode and listen to the seminar. You may be able to switch on the video from time to time just to see who is speaking, but definitely don’t use the video mode if you wish to speak yourself. You can also pose questions using the chat function. AMI will upload the whole seminar later on the AMI website and Facebook page.