ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ethnicity in Myanmar as socially constructed and process-oriented. It looks at some of the discursive processes involved in ethnic group-making, involving the state, ethnic elites and subaltern voices through the exploration of texts. The chapter examines state and allied projects. It also examines projects that diverge from and aims to resist the state from ethnonationalist perspectives. The chapter briefly considers contemporary implications of ethnic identity in Myanmar's democratic transition and beyond. The state is a key entity involved in ethnic group-building projects. The postcolonial state recast ethnicity as a form of kinship, emphasising similarities, unity in diversity and a shared history of anti-colonial struggle rather than difference and inherent conflict. Ethnic unity has been a key goal for all Burmese postcolonial governments, exemplified in slogans such as 'union spirit'. The politics of ethnicity is a key element for the state to manage within the current political transition.
