ABSTRACT
The role of external agencies is one factor commonly associated with transition from authoritarian regime to democracy (Huntington 1991a, b; Pinkney 2004; Potter 1997; Grugel 2002). Democratic nations and their pro-democratic institutions tend to put pressure on authoritarian regimes which depend on external agencies for loans, aid and trade. External agency can be the foreign policy of one nation or a collective of nations that are designed or intended to exert pressure on some specific nation or a group of nations. External agency can also be in the form of international organisation, regional body or alliance. The pro-democratic agendas of global financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund or the diplomatic agendas of individual nations can influence the pattern of political transition in other countries. This chapter analyses sanctions versus engagement policies pursued by the international community in its diplomatic relations with Myanmar. It specifically looks at the politics of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, the involvement of the United Nations and the engagement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People's Republic of China and India.
