The exploitation of natural resources in the South is often accompanied by increased social and environmental insecurity for marginalised populations. In Myanmar this insecurity is exacerbated by decades of civil conflict between the Myanmar government and the ethnic minorities who populate its resource-rich mountainous borderlands. Although still engaged in a significant conflict in Kachin State in the north a new quasi-democratic government has, since 2011, made significant overtures towards other ethnic groups, notably signing ceasefires with the Karen National Union, potentially bringing the world’s longest running civil war to an end. National attempts at peace building between the government and the various ethnic minorities is, however, intimately intertwined with the division of natural resources which has been a consistent instigator of conflict.
Ethnic minorities argue for the ownership of local natural resources based on a localised Listian economic nationalist approach to the resources. Their case has traditionally been based on the illegitimacy of the authoritarian government extracting their resources and the concomitant injustices visited upon their communities. The distribution of resources based on ethnicities can, however, create further injustices, particularly when ethnic minorities are not recognised as citizens, as has occurred for the Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State, a state rich in natural gas. This paper therefore analyses the identity-related conflicts associated with the distribution and exploitation of natural resources in Myanmar and their relationship to the peace process and emergent democratic governance. Based on extensive field research this case study provides a unique opportunity to investigate the interrelationships between a poor state susceptible to the resource curse, an authoritarian regime undertaking a voluntary transition towards democratic governance and an ethnically diverse society riven with conflict populating a climate sensitive environment, just as participatory governance arrangements such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative are becoming a global norm.
