After 40 years of writing about Myanmar, I’m excited to share my latest anthology, A Myanmar Miscellany. This collection brings together 72 articles I’ve written over the past 16 years, many of which have become difficult to find online. My aim with this book is to make these pieces more accessible to anyone interested in Myanmar’s history, politics, and culture.
Having spent much of my career as a diplomat and intelligence analyst with the Australian government, my first exposure to Myanmar (then Burma) came through official channels. After moving into the academic world, I found more freedom to write openly about the country, and over time, I’ve published ten books and more than 450 papers, articles, and reviews related to Myanmar.
This new anthology reflects my ongoing commitment to understanding Myanmar’s complex, and often misunderstood, dynamics. The 72 articles in A Myanmar Miscellany cover a range of topics, from the 2021 military coup and subsequent civil war, to Myanmar’s place in the Western imagination during its colonial past. I’ve also included some lighter, more personal pieces, such as “The Rats of Rangoon” and “Diplomatic Intelligence”, which offer readers a glimpse into my own experiences in the region.
The articles are short, typically between 1,000 and 2,000 words, and many of them originally appeared in various publications and blogs. I’ve included brief introductions for each piece, providing context on the circumstances that led me to write them. Some of these articles focus on contemporary political and security issues, while others delve into Myanmar’s rich cultural and historical background. There’s some inevitable overlap in the pieces, particularly regarding developments around the 2021 coup, but I’ve tried to avoid repetition where possible.
One of my main reasons for putting together this collection was to preserve articles that have since disappeared from the internet. I’m often contacted by researchers looking for older works that have been archived or lost, and I hope this anthology will provide a useful resource for those interested in the country’s past and present.
As with my earlier anthology, Interpreting Myanmar, my goal with A Myanmar Miscellany is to contribute to an informed, balanced debate about a country that has captured the world’s attention in recent decades. Myanmar’s political, security, and social issues are enormously complex, and this collection reflects my ongoing efforts to provide evidence-based analysis and promote thoughtful discussion.
I hope this anthology offers valuable insights for anyone trying to better understand Myanmar. Whether you’re a seasoned Myanmar watcher, a researcher, or simply curious about the country, A Myanmar Miscellany provides a wide-ranging look at one of Asia’s most fascinating nations.
Andrew Selth is an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute and internationally recognised Myanmar expert.
