Promoting Human Rights in Burma A Critique of Western Sanctions Policy

Since 1988, when Burma's military rulers crushed a popular uprising, Western governments have promoted democracy as a panacea for the country's manifold development problems. Morten B. Pedersen argues that Western democracy rhetoric has not supplied the solution to these problems. Based on extensive field research, Promoting Human Rights in Burma proposes an alternative model of "critical engagement" that emphasizes more pragmatic efforts to help bring a deeply divided society together and promote socioeconomic development as the basis for longer-term political change.