Originally Posted: April 6, 2016
SMU’s Matthew Wilson on Developing Young Burmese Leaders
The critical message that I hope the Young Leaders bring to Burma’s democratic transition is that democracy means more than just having elections. For democracy to thrive and endure, an engaged civil society and political culture committed to democratic values have to be built, and this doesn’t happen overnight.
Matthew Wilson is Associate Professor of Political Science at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. He recently traveled to Burma as an instructor for the Bush Institute’s Liberty and Leadership Forum, teaching on federalism, pluralism, and managing diversity in a democracy. The Bush Institute interviewed Professor Wilson about his Burmese experiences.
GWBI: You recently traveled to Burma for the Liberty and Leadership Forum. What were your overall impressions of Burmese society and the changes occurring there?
MW: Burma is a fascinating country of stunning and dramatic contrasts. The legacy of sometimes brutally authoritarian military rule exists alongside a people who are extraordinarily warm, gracious, and welcoming. The endemic poverty visible everywhere rubs elbows with the gilded opulence of Shwedagon Pagoda and of the luxury condominiums and high-end shopping centers springing up in Yangon. The obvious signs of modernity (like the unending traffic jams and the prevalence of smart phones) are accompanied by very visible markers of tradition, like the continued prevalence of the longyi and other forms of distinctive cultural dress and the ubiquity of saffron-robed monks.
Clearly, though, Burmese society is in transition. They are rushing to open themselves more fully to the world, to catch up with the economic and social development that has happened in the rest of East Asia without losing their distinctive cultural soul. Burma will, I think, be a different country ten years from now than it is today. I am cautiously optimistic that the change will be, on the whole, for the good.