Securitization of ‘Rohingyas’ in Myanmar: An Analysis

Abstract

The present study examines the securitization of ‘Rohingyas’ in Myanmar and attempts to examine the issue on the basis of theoretical lens offering an in-depth analysis of the securitizing process. The central aim of this study is to examine the process of exclusion of an ethnic identity—‘Rohingyas’ in a nation state- Myanmar. Following qualitative method and on the basis of both primary and secondary data, this research investigates how the actions of Burmese governing (government, military actors) and non-governing (Burmese Buddhist groups, Buddhist monks, political parties, Intelligentsia) actors in Myanmar have led to the securitization of ‘Rohingyas’. This study is based on interviews with individuals from diverse disciplines and for this, a total of 20 respondents has been interviewed. In this regard, a random sample survey method has been followed in the selection of respondents. Scholars on Myanmar studies, migration and security, human rights activists, Rohingya and non-Rohingya Muslims, and Burmese Buddhists have been interviewed. The central argument of this study is that historically a less politicized ‘Rohingya’ issue has been addressed as a security question in Myanmar for the majority Buddhist identity and nationalism, gradually brought into the public debate by the Burmese elites making this ethnic minority other. This study tries to develop a framework that encompasses Speech Acts, actors, means and consequences of securitizing ‘Rohingyas’ within Myanmar and the beyond.