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Under the 2008 Constitution and following the 2010 elections marking Myanmar's historic transition from military rule, the country began a series of decentralization reforms. Sub-national governance is now based on fourteen state and region governments, with more opportunities for public inputs at the local level. Myanmar, however, remains a highly centralized state: 25 per cent of national and sub-national parliamentary seats are constitutionally mandated for the military. Furthermore, the state and region governments have no civil service of their own and must rely on national ministries. While even the military now concedes that the country's future lies in some form of federalism, what that means will be highly contested given the history of ethnic armed conflicts. Meanwhile, state and region governments are becoming more active in defining their own policies, developments that the new National League for Democracy-led government has promised to further.
Keywords: Myanmar, decentralization, federalism, state and region governments, democratic transition.
1.Introduction
As part of a roadmap to "discipline-flourishing democracy" announced by the military government in 2003, a new constitution was drafted and approved through a public referendum in 2008. Widely viewed as a constitution designed to maintain the central role of the military in state affairs, it nevertheless introduced significant new structures in sub-national governance. Fourteen state and region governments were mandated and some division of power between levels of administration was created. This was a historic shift from a highly centralized military dictatorship. After assuming power in April 2011, the Thein Sein government increasingly emphasized decentralization and improvement in local governance while engaging in ceasefire discussions with the numerous ethnic armed groups. Until recently, the term "federalism" was still viewed as a highly sensitive term synonymous with the disintegration of the state. It has become part of the ongoing peace process, with Myanmar's military publicly acknowledging that the country's future lies in some form of federalism. Meanwhile, the newly formed state and region governments are becoming more active in defining their own policies for sub-national governance.
Despite these developments, Myanmar remains a highly centralized country. Its system of governance is perhaps best understood as a "federallike" polity. The creation of new sub-national governments are constitutionally mandated, but their powers are greatly circumscribed. The 2008 Constitution stipulates that 25 per cent...