TY - JOUR
T1 - Law fuckers, cultural forgers and the business of youth entitlement in Yangon, Myanmar
AU - Menager, Jacqueline
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Myanmar's rolling political and economic transition is being shaped by profound generational change. Little attention has been paid to the priorities and politics of the new generation of youth. This article seeks to explore the construction of Myanmar's elites as a homogenized, unitary, uncontested group through a close examination of elite youth. The article challenges some basic preconceptions about Myanmar's elites. Three primary youth cohorts are appraised and situated in the transition: the entitled business elite, the cultural forgers and the resistant forces. All three groups are privileged in Myanmar society, where their power struggles see efforts to assert degrees of cultural supremacy. Drawing on ethnographic research in Myanmar, the article offers insights into the role of elite youth in Myanmar's future and their perceptions of the present shift of national political and economic policies.
AB - Myanmar's rolling political and economic transition is being shaped by profound generational change. Little attention has been paid to the priorities and politics of the new generation of youth. This article seeks to explore the construction of Myanmar's elites as a homogenized, unitary, uncontested group through a close examination of elite youth. The article challenges some basic preconceptions about Myanmar's elites. Three primary youth cohorts are appraised and situated in the transition: the entitled business elite, the cultural forgers and the resistant forces. All three groups are privileged in Myanmar society, where their power struggles see efforts to assert degrees of cultural supremacy. Drawing on ethnographic research in Myanmar, the article offers insights into the role of elite youth in Myanmar's future and their perceptions of the present shift of national political and economic policies.
U2 - 10.5367/sear.2014.0207
DO - 10.5367/sear.2014.0207
M3 - Article
SN - 0967-828X
VL - 22
SP - 201
EP - 212
JO - South East Asia Research
JF - South East Asia Research
IS - 2
ER -