Foreword by Distinguished Professor Emeritus David I. Steinberg

Summary

The indefatigable Andrew Selth, fresh from his seemingly myriad major studies, chapters, research papers, intellectual excursions (see his Kipling and Western music piece),blogs and op-eds,has demonstrated once again his catholic knowledge and his capacity for care and detail related to Burma/Myanmar. This new edition of his bibliography, which should become an essential reference for those even minimally concerned with Burma/Myanmar, is path-breaking, and is a critical guide to those both figuratively and literally Burma bound, as were his earlier editions and his work on the state of Burmese studies.

The publication of this fourth edition of the bibliography is especially timely. The state entered a new incarnation after the elections of 2015, following fifty years of direct and indirect military control, including its “civilianized” form from 2011. This process continued with the elections held in 2020 but has been interrupted by the February 2021 coup. Before the military takeover, foreign-imposed sanctions had largely been suspended or lifted, the iconic Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was an established part of public political life, international businesses were seeking Burmese opportunities, tourism had exploded, and violence continued in ethnic areas. It remains to be seen what now follows, but either way these and other developments will no doubt spur new publications, both ephemeral and more lasting, about aspects of Burma/ Myanmar. Yet it is essential for those seriously concerned, and even those touristically inclined, to understand what has gone before if they are to comprehend the present, which is never written de novo. This bibliography, then, offers a Virgilian guide to Myanmar’s recent past, and is an essential reference component for both the interested traveller and the dedicated student or specialist.

Burma/Myanmar formerly has been simplistically characterized as isolated and unknown. This may have been comparatively true for a quarter of a century following the coup of 1962, but has been inaccurate for the past few generations. In spite of direct rule by junta from 1988 under a regime that was noted worldwide for its repression and human rights violations, the state, known since 2011 as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, attracted more academic and political interest than might have been imagined from a country previously insulated from much of the West.