Following the coup in Myanmar, there have been many protests and demonstrations by citizens that have been met with extreme force. Just this past week, there was an instance of police firing ammunition into a protest in an attempt to disperse demonstrators. This prompted some of Myanmar’s neighbors to denounce the junta and call for the release of the past democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Many of those neighbors are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. There has been much discussion amongst the organization as to whether or not they should try to intervene or negotiate with the junta, many saying that they are nothing more than a terrorist group, and trying to cooperate or work with them would only validate them as leadership. The Myanmar military, who is currently running the country, has Aung San Suu Kyi in custody, charging her for multiple crimes, including false election results. They have also arrested countless protesters, including a reporter for the Associated Press.
When I first read about the coup in Myanmar, it reminded me of the attempted coup on the US capitol. Obviously there were major differences between the two, however they were both over the same reason. When reading about these protests, and the violence the demonstrators were met with from the police, I couldn’t help but think about the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. There are countless differences between Myanmar and the United States. Age, stability, power, economic status, trade, etc. However, they face many of the same struggles. And these struggles are not unique to these two countries, either. It makes me think about philosophy and world theories, how both in liberal and realist perspectives there are ideas on humanity and how humans are almost programmed to behave. When there are so many different factors yet so many similarities in these situations, I can’t help but wonder if there’s any truth to those ideas.
The possible intervention by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations would be an example of liberal theory, as this would support the idea of liberal institutionalism. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an institution that promotes cooperation between these countries. Intervention by an outside force, especially one of great world power such as the United States would also be an example of liberal theory, as it would be an example of liberal hegemony. If an outside country were to become involved in the situation in Myanmar, it would be seen as the country’s moral obligation to become involved in what is viewed as a humanitarian crisis.