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Fields of contention: A multi-dimensional model of resistance tactics among Myanmar's Spring Revolution youth activists

In a world impacted by polycrisis, contentious politics are evolving quickly, recently driven by AI as a disruptive force and novel tactics developed by new social movements. Yet existing frameworks remain trapped in one-dimensional taxonomic debates – mono-level spectrums that fail to capture the complexity of rapidly evolving resistance tactics. To address this gap, this article proposes a multi-dimensional, multi-positional model: a two-dimensional field of contention spanning adversarial-contentious-transformative on one axis and analogue-hybrid-digital on the other, drawn from and extending the repertoires of contention literature.

The model is grounded in deep ethnographic fieldwork with exiled youth activists from Myanmar's Spring Revolution in Thailand, analysing their protest behaviours in resistance to the military coup of February 2021. Findings reveal that most youth activists cluster in the transformative quadrants – both digital and analogue. While moral obligation emerges as a dominant, perhaps the most dominant, protest motivator across activists, its object appears to determine tactical trajectory: obligation oriented toward immediate protection tends toward adversarial – and sometimes armed – positioning, while obligation oriented toward enacting democratic alternatives in exile tends toward transformative, community-building tactics. This model addresses a gap in existing frameworks and allows scholars to flexibly map, describe and begin to predict resistance tactics with greater complexity, once the core values and protest motivations of activists are known.

Speaker

Dr Lukas Nagel recently completed his PhD in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. His research focuses on the vital role of young activists in challenging authoritarianism, particularly in the context of the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, investigating their values, psychological protest motivations, tactics and future aspirations that explain their resilience and why they risk their lives in political struggle. Before his PhD, Lukas gained experience working on anti-corruption initiatives in Kenya and in peacebuilding and research across Myanmar, the Philippines and India. He holds a bachelor's degree in Sinology (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) and a master's in Asian Studies (Lund University, Sweden). Lukas currently works as a Research Assistant and Sessional Lecturer at Griffith University, and volunteers as Workshop Coordinator and Trainer with the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Queensland.

Chair

Zaw Yadanar Hein, zaw.hein@anu.edu.au

The ANU Myanmar Research Centre Dialogue Series is a conversation concerning current research on Myanmar aimed at providing scholars with an opportunity to present their work, try out an idea, advance an argument and critically engage with other researchers. International and Myanmar researchers from any discipline are invited to contribute. The Dialogue Series is particularly seeking to provide a space for early career researchers wishing to receive constructive feedback. Each dialogue is one hour long, including a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute Q&A. As a hybrid series, the Dialogues are presented in both virtual and in-person format, hosted by the ANU Myanmar Research Centre.

Image by Dave Hopkins

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