Episode #228: Jane Ferguson speaks about her recent book, Repossessing Shanland: Myanmar, Thailand, and a Nation-State Deferred. The book’s title refers to Shan attempts to reclaim their land and community after many years of conflict.

Ferguson explains that contemporary concepts of identity—like “ethnicity”—are often mistakenly used to interpret the past. Rather, her study reveals the lack of pan-Shan identity, and that even the way the Shan practiced Buddhism varied from east to west. The British, with hopes of a more efficient Empire, tried unsuccessfully to get the Shan to unite.

Many Shan migrants work in Thailand, where they eke out a living to send money back to their families and communities in Myanmar. Recent changes in Thai-Myanmar relations and plans to create economic zones, however, raise many questions about the future of this arrangement.

During the transition years, the Shan were skeptical that the NLD would be supportive of their political and economic interests. Whether it was the elected government under Aung San Suu Kyi or the military regime that was in power, they often felt they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

In closing, Ferguson says that there is this idea that, “Okay, now that the military is back in the saddle, everybody has a common enemy again, so they're more likely to unite… I've met some really creative people that have incredible ideas for building a better future. I can't begin to express the horrors and the biggest internal conflict that Myanmar is fighting since the time of World War Two, it's tremendous. But on the other hand, there are some pockets of real optimism.”