Everyday Justice in Myanmar: Informal Resolutions and State Evasion in a Time of Contested Transition

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This volume explores how ordinary people in Myanmar obtain justice and resolve disputes and crimes in a time of radical transition. In so doing, it analyzes the wider dynamics of state making, state–society relations, the role of identity politics, and the constitution of authority in a country emerging from decades of military rule and civil war. Based on a unique collection of ethnographic studies with ordinary people’s experiences to the fore, its contributions illustrate that the long history of military rule and ethnic divisions continue to foster a mistrust in the state and an orientation towards ‘the local’ in everyday justice. “A remarkable examination of local dispute settlement practices, often outside the formal apparatus of state institutions. The coverage, the meticulous specificity, and the ethnic diversity of these essays make them a unique contribution to the study of ‘vernacular justice’. A successful experiment worth emulating elsewhere.” (James C. Scott, Yale University)