Beyond Myanmar’s borders: the use of transnational repression and creation of new state spaces within ASEAN

Naung Naung

Source Link

On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military (Sit-Tat) staged a coup d’état, which resulted in extensive political, social, and economic disruption (Antiquerra et al. Citation2021). The coup unified Myanmar's diverse diaspora communities to collectively oppose the military regime and provide humanitarian assistance amid widespread human rights violations and escalating violence (Olliff et al. Citation2023). In response, Sit-Tat has expanded the use of transnational repression, defined as the practice of states extending their influence across national borders to suppress dissent among diaspora and exile communities (Schenkkan and Linzer Citation2021), to silence opposition among Myanmar diaspora and exile communities. 

Although repression in Myanmar has drawn international focus, the junta's transnational repression efforts remain largely overlooked. This article addresses that gap by examining the regime’s evolving and complex strategies to suppress dissent abroad. The use of transnational repression by Sit-Tat is not a recent development (The Irrawaddy Citation2021), but by integrating digital technologies with traditional coercive measures, the military's tactics highlight the growing complexity of repression in the age of globalisation.