This research sees how local ethnic groups in the Rakhine state, Myanmar, identify and cope with the local violent events they encountered or anticipated. Region-wide violence has become a common experience among those living in the conflict-ridden region of the Rakhine state. Within the span of two decades, there were at least three crises that sparked violence across the region: the 2012 sectarian conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine; The 2016-2017 violent campaign against Rohingya; and the occasional armed conflict between Myanmar’s armed force, Tatmadaw, and the local ethnic armed group, the Arakan Army (AA). We have observed that these prominent events have never been fully resolved but linger as a pretext for the violent incidents encountered by the members of these local ethnic groups.
The project explores local peace infrastructures and unarmed civilian protection strategies through the lens of ethnic groups living in both central and northern Rakhine areas. It uses a participatory action research approach not only to compare different conceptions of violence of the different ethnic groups in the region but also to explore divergent strategies of said groups to handle and reduce violence in their respective communities. With this core research design, the project shall involve its sampled members of ethnic local groups throughout all phases of the research project design, implementation, and post-data collection. Their feedback on the finding is critical later on to better understand the local capacity to engage with unarmed civilian protection strategies.
Research Team
- Abellia Anggi Wardani, Knowledge-Hub Myanmar (Principal Investigator)
- Riyad Anwar, Knowledge-Hub Myanmar
- Florian Weigand, Centre on Armed Groups and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
- Tony Neil, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
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