Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

A distinctive
feature of social and
cultural life at CMC

 

The Burmese Exception: Explaining Exits from Military Rule

Thu, February 27, 2020
Dinner Program
Zoltan Barany

Why do generals give up their political power? What factors determine their place under the new regime? What challenges do democracy advocates face in the wake of military rule? Following a discussion of these general questions, Zoltan Barany, Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Professor in the government department at the University of Texas, Austin, will turn to Burma/Myanmar and its unique experience with military rule, which in turn, helps explain the struggles – political, economic, ethno-religious – the country has faced in its transition efforts toward democracy.

Throughout his career, Zoltan Barany, Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Professor in the government department at the University of Texas, Austin, has centered his research and writing on military politics and democratization globally. His early scholarship was also concerned with ethnopolitics (particularly the Gypsies/Roma) and East European politics more generally.

Barany's current research project, Armies of Arabia, focuses on military politics and effectiveness in the Gulf monarchies. His most recent books, among others, include “How Armies Respond to Revolutions and Why” (Princeton, 2016), “The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas” (Princeton, 2012), and, as co-editor, "Is Democracy Exportable?” (Cambridge, 2009) —all have been translated into Arabic. Barany is also the author of “Democratic Breakdown and the Decline of the Russian Military.”  He has published dozens of articles, essays, and monographs in academic and policy journals as well as on the web.

He has held a recurring appointment as a (non-resident) senior associate of the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC where his work has concentrated on military issues on the Arabian Peninsula.

Professor Barany’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies.

(Parents Dining Room)

Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

Claremont McKenna College
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Claremont, CA 91711

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