Information and Communications Technology and Ethnic Conflict in Myanmar: Organizing for Violence or Peace?

This study contributes to body of research that tests the effect of mobile phone signal coverage on the probability of violent collective action by shifting the level of analysis to a single country—Myanmar. The analysis uses a random effects logistic model of time-series cross-sectional data to test whether mobile phone availability has a significant effect on the probability of conflict among ethnic groups given their spatial and non-spatial characteristics, including: population density, territory type, and political and religious status. This study presents a nuanced, historical view of Myanmar and explores how future levels of conflict could change with the expansion of information and communications technology (ICT). While the findings are exploratory and preliminary, as mobile coverage data across a wider timeframe becomes available for Myanmar, these tests can be easily replicated to achieve more robust and statistically significant results.

Author

• Bergren, Anne Rebecca

Language

• en

Keyword

• Burma
• Myanmar
• information and communications technology
• collective action
• ICT
• ethnic conflict

Date created

• 2016

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• International Affairs

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Bailard, Catie

Committee Member(s)

• Fink, Christina

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/pk02c9881