ABSTRACT
Since the takeover of the state in 1988, the Myanmar military, commonly known as the Tatmadaw, has grown in strength, essentially from a counter-insurgency force into a conventional one, and expanded its political role, setting a stage for civil-military relations that constitutionally guarantee the military privileges and institutional autonomy. This chapter analyses factors and processes that drive the military’s decision to modernize its forces, to legalize its political role, and to restore its institutional autonomy. It will also study the pattern of civil-military relations since the coming of the National League for Democracy (NLD) to power in 2016, after winning a landslide victory in the November 2015 elections, that eventually led to the military takeover of the state in February 2021 and its consequences.
