Book Number: 4 319
Taylor's book is an attempt to explain, in comparative historical perspective, the background to Burma's political development since 1962 when the military took power and began the process of converting the country into a one-party socialist state. It is the first book on the nature of Burma's modern politics written by a foreign social scientist, who has done research in the country since 1962.
Among many questions the author seeks to answer are the following: Why has the state in Burma developed in the comparatively unorthodox manner that it has? What have been the effects of the state's autarchic policies on the country's economy and foreign relations? Who has benefited and who has lost in the redistribution of power and influence that has taken place during the twentieth century? Given the turbulent history of Burma between 1920 and 1962, why has the country remained outwardly so politically stable since 1962? What is the relationship between the state and the peasantry and other social classes? How does ideology affect the nature of politics?
The work is based on the assumption that meaningful answers to these questions can only be given in the context of the state's development from the 'early modern' era to the present. It reveals a coherent political pattern not obvious except from the perspective of an analysis of the nature of the state. As the leading figures in the states have changed, from Burmese kings to British civil servants to indigenous politicians and army officers, so have the ideas that have shaped the relationship of the state with the institutions of civil society.
The book also contributes to the debate over the nature of the state and the alternative strategies for the state perpetuation.
(London 1987)
395 pp., 145 x 225 mm limited stock
66.- US-Dollar
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