Circumventing the Junta: How Burmese exiles use independent media to foster civic culture and promote democracy

Nearly five decades after toppling the last civilian government, Burma's military leaders continue to rule the once-prosperous country by subjecting its population to a litany of human rights abuses. In recent years, the advent of independent media has shed more light on the junta's brutality while allowing Burmese exiles to expand their pro-democracy networks. Independent media's influence has become all the more important since the "Saffron Revolution" of September 2007 and Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. Research on independent media by Burmese dissidents provides valuable insight for journalists as well as human rights campaigners. Drawing from interviews with seven Burmese exiled media producers based in Northern Thailand, this paper applies network society theory to an examination of how Burmese exiles use independent media to foster civic culture and promote democracy. It concludes that independent media counter the effects of Burmanization by expanding the public sphere and crossing ethnic boundaries.