Web 2.0 at the Heart of Myanmar’s Turmoil
Keywords:
Myanmar, Web 2.0, social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Civil Disobedience Movement, Tatmadaw, military junta, protest, Aung San Suu Kyi
Abstract
As digitalization has transformed arguably all aspects of human existence and co-existence, it has obviously made its way into the realms of politics, diplomacy and the dynamics of emerging social tendencies on all levels – global, regional and local. This study takes a look at how Web 2.0 has affected Myanmar’s public conflicts during the last two decades – and does so from the standpoint of social sciences, examining the unique nature of Burmese online development compared to other parts of the world, analyzing the interrelated nature of civil and government actions in the virtual sphere and on the streets alike. Looking at the related details of recent and partially ongoing social tragedies of Myanmar, this paper shows both how deeply Web 2.0 can infiltrate offline reality, and how obvious its limits are still in the hands of humans.
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References
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23. Numerous professional discussions with fellow diplomats accredited to Myanmar between 2015-2019.
2. AAPP (Assistance Association for Political Prisoners) (2022): Political Prisoners Post-Coup Real-Time Count. Accessed: 17 July 2022, URL: https://aappb.org/
3. BARNHILL, J. H. (2011): Internet and Music Communities. Encyclopedia of Social Networks (ed: George A. Barnett), Sage Publications, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-4129-7911-5, pp. 559-563.
4. BROOTEN, L. (2021): Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement is built on decades of struggle. East Asia Forum, 29 March 2021, URL: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/03/29/myanmars-civil-disobedience-movement-is-built-on-decades-of-struggle/
5. CHEW, H. M. (2021): How Protesters in Myanmar get around social media and Internet blackouts. Channel News Asia, 10 February 2021, URL: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/myanmar-protests-protesters-getting-around-internet-blackout-34206610 Feb 2021 05:18PM(Updated: 10 Feb 2021 05:22PM)
6. DEEJAY, A. (2021): How activists are using Facebook in Myanmar for democratic ends, but Facebook itself also facilitated hate speech. London School of Economics and Political Science – Southeast Asia Centre, 23 June 2021, URL: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/seac/2021/06/23/how-activists-are-using-facebook-in-myanmar-for-democratic-ends-but-facebook-itself-also-facilitated-hate-speech/
7. FRANKEL, R. (2020): How Facebook Is Preparing for Myanmar’s 2020 Election. Facebook, 31 August, 2020, URL: https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/preparing-for-myanmars-2020-election/
8. HELYS, M. (2021): Rola ONZ w kryzysie Rohingya (The Role of the UN in the Rohingya Crisis). Instytut Nowej Europy, 29 October 2021, URL: https://ine.org.pl/rola-onz-w-kryzysie-rohingya-czesc-2/
9. ICG (International Crisis Group) (2021): Myanmar’s military struggles to control the virtual battlefield / Report No. 314. International Crisis Group, 18 May 2021, URL: https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/314-myanmars-military-struggles-control-virtual-battlefield
10. KEMP, S. (2021): Digital Myanmar: 2021. DataReportal, 12 February 2021, URL: https://datareportal.com/reports/ digital-2020-myanmar
11. McNEIL, S.; MILKO, V. (2021): Hate speech in Myanmar continues to thrive on Facebook. The Associated Press, 18 November 2021,
12. URL: https://apnews.com/article/a38da3ccd40ffae7e4caa450c374f796
13. NELSON, A. (2007): Using Web 2.0 Applications to Support a Political Cause: Myanmar as an Ongoing Case Study. Columbia University, New Media and Development Communication Centre,
14. URL: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/nelson/newmediadev/Myanmar.html
15. PÉREZ, E. (2021): Quien controla las redes, controla el estado: los militares de Myanmar ordenan bloquear Facebook, Whatsapp e Instagram (Who Controls the Networks, Controls the State: Myanmar Military Blocks Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram). Xataka Análisis, 4 February 2021, URL: https://www.xataka.com/otros/quien-controla-redes-controla-estado-militares-myanmar-ordenan-bloquear-facebook-whatsapp-e-instagram
16. SINA Media (2021): 缅甸军队发动政变软禁昂山素季 而且还是 (Burmese Army Staged a Coup, Aung San Suu Kyi Under Arrest). Sina Military We Media (editorial article), 4. February 2021, URL: https://mil.sina.cn/zm/2021-02-04/detail-ikftssap3233722.d.html
17. SUNG, L. (2022): Military Dictatorship and Online Activism in Myanmar. Borgen Magazine 17 April 2022, URL: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/online-activism-in-myanmar/
18. TARABAY, J. (2021): Myanmar Citizens Use Protester Toolkit to Skirt Internet Ban. Bloomberg, 24 March 2021, URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/myanmar-citizens-find-ways-around-crackdown-on-internet#xj4y7vzkg
19. The Straits Times (2021): First Thailand, now Myanmar: Asia protesters borrow three-finger salute from Hunger Games. The Straits Times (editorial article), 4 February 2021, URL: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/first-thailand-now-myanmar-asia-protesters-borrow-three-finger-salute-from-hunger-games
20. VOA Chinese (2022): 昂山素季据信再被判刑四年 (Aung San Suu Kyi Gets Four Years in Prison). Voa Chinese (editorial article), 10 January 2022, URL: https://www.voachinese.com/a/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-sentence-20220110/6389847.html
21. HTWE, T. (2022) In-depth discussion with Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok Than Htwe.
22. LWIN, T. T. (2022) In-depth discussion with Honorary Consul of Hungary in Yangon Tint Tint Lwin.
23. Numerous professional discussions with fellow diplomats accredited to Myanmar between 2015-2019.
Published
2022-09-23
How to Cite
Gorombolyi, D. (2022). Web 2.0 at the Heart of Myanmar’s Turmoil. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 9, 462. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/15855
Section
ESI Preprints
Copyright (c) 2022 David Gorombolyi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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