2026/06/16 by Naw Pe The Law, Carl Middleton
Social Sciences · #Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography #Cambodian History and Society #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
paper · doi:10.2458/jpe.8618
openalex publication_date 2026/06/16 · openalex created_date 2026/06/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/17
This article analyses territorialization 'from-above' and 'from-below' in Kamoethway, Tanintharyi Region in relation to the public authorities of the Karen National Union (KNU) and changing Myanmar governments. Fieldwork in Karen villages of the Kamoethway area details how community-based organizations and community leaders organized a social movement, documented situated knowledge, and claimed rights to govern territory locally including resources and land, which we term 'territorialization-from-below'. We analyze how strategies of resistance, consent and co-option empowered Kamoethway communities after the 2012 ceasefire. However, following the 2021 coup, while KNU's public authority expanded, community-based activism reduced due to the ongoing conflict, KNU security policies, and restrictions on civil freedoms.