00000cam a22000003i 4500 UP-1685594773862075792 Buklod 20170407095313.0 g||| | || || ta 170407s2014 ctuab rb |||1 u|eng d 9780300221442 (iLib)UPBAG-00023730390 BC-68018 MegaTEXTS DLC BAG rda eng DS 530.4 C63 2015 Cockett, Richard author. Blood, dreams and gold the changing face of Burma Richard Cockett. New Haven Yale University Press ©2015. xviii, 275 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates illustrations, maps 24 cm Includes bibliographical references (pages [259]-262) and index. The Burmese mosaic -- "A world at its zenith" : Rangoon, commerce and colonialism -- The generals' revenge -- Burmanisation -- Under enemy occupation : the test of the Kachin -- The catastrophe of drugs : the Karen and Shan -- An embarrassment of poverty : Burma's collapse -- The Lady's not for turning : the challenge of the NLD -- Change from the top : Than Shwe to Thein Sein -- A new "great game" : the geopolitics of change -- Burma's future and the ghosts of the plural society. "Burma is one of the largest countries in Southeast Asia and was once one of its richest. Under successive military regimes, however, the country eventually ended up as one of the poorest countries in Asia, a byword for repression and ethnic violence. Richard Cockett spent years in the region as a correspondent for The Economist and witnessed firsthand the vicious sectarian politics of the Burmese government, and later, also, its surprising attempts at political and social reform. Cockett's enlightening history, from the colonial era on, explains how Burma descended into decades of civil war and authoritarian government. Taking advantage of the opening up of the country since 2011, Cockett has interviewed hundreds of former political prisoners, guerilla fighters, ministers, monks, and others to give a vivid account of life under one of the most brutal regimes in the world. In many cases, this is the first time that they have been able to tell their stories to the outside world. Cockett also explains why the regime has started to reform, and why these reforms will not go as far as many people had hoped. This is the most rounded survey to date of this volatile Asian nation"--Provided by publisher. Civil war Burma History. Authoritarianism Burma History. Social change Burma History. Interviews Burma. Burma History 1948- . Burma History 1824-1948. Burma Politics and government. Burma Colonial influence. FO UPBAG UPBAG-MAIN DS 530.4 C63 2015 Book