Ban Ki-moon in Burma

Joshua Kurlantzick thinks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent work on Myanmar has been more helpful than in the past: Ban Ki-moon’s trip to Myanmar has proven surprisingly productive, and the UN chief has been far more vocal than on previous visits, when he deferred too readily to the then-military regime, and at times even seemed ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Joshua Kurlantzick thinks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's recent work on Myanmar has been more helpful than in the past:

Joshua Kurlantzick thinks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent work on Myanmar has been more helpful than in the past:

Ban Ki-moon’s trip to Myanmar has proven surprisingly productive, and the UN chief has been far more vocal than on previous visits, when he deferred too readily to the then-military regime, and at times even seemed unprepared for the complexities of dealing with Burmese politics, including the tricky ethnic issues. Of course, a lot is changing in Myanmar, opening up room for the UN to play a larger role, and the apparent retirement of former senior general Than Shwe, who appeared to have a visceral disdain for international institutions and outside interlocutors, also plays a role. But Ban seems better briefed, more comfortable, and clearer in his view on Myanmar’s progress. For one, prior to his trip his staff clearly enunciated the enormous potential of Myanmar as a destination for investment, talking it up (over-talking it, in my opinion) in a way that surely pleased both the business community and allies of President Thein Sein, who need results from the reforms in order to stave off hard-liners.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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