Feb 1, 2021-2021
Myanmar
Anti-Junta Costume Protest
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Myanmar Citizens
TARGET
Myanmar Tatmadaw
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
There should be a return to democracy and the military should step down.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: A coup occurred in Myanmar, which has received widespread Western condemnation. People took to the street to protest this military takeover. Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was the first serious casualty that resulted from protests against this coup, and her wounding rallied support to reverse the coup and free the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her allies from detention.
Dilemma Action: Protests took on a festive air in many places, as women wore ball gowns and wedding dresses, bodybuilders showed up shirtless, farmers came on tractors, and people brought their pets. Police marched wearing signs that said, “We don’t want dictatorship.” Protestors draped a flag of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing from a bridge in Yangon
Outcomes: The military imposed restrictions on gatherings and a night curfew. They justify the coup on grounds of fraud, claiming the election was a landslide win for Suu Kyi’s NLD party.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Parades
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
9 / 12
(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
Laugtivism
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
3 / 3
Activist group continued working together after the action
Encouraged more participants to join the movement
Internally replicated by the same movement
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
Reuters Staff. “Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters defy crackdown with humour,” Reuters. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.reuters.com/article/myanmar-politics-int-idUSKBN2AA065).
Ye Kyaw, Min. “Myanmar’s Gen Z protesters defy powerful military with ‘innovative’ signs,” South China Morning Post. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3121494/myanmar-coup-protesters-delight-internet-satirical-signs).
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