Geopolitical Economy of Myanmar and the Role of Great Powers in Rohingya Crisis

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue X, October 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Geopolitical Economy of Myanmar and the Role of Great Powers in Rohingya Crisis

Mahfujur Rahman¹, Md. Saifullah Akon²

¹Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Bangladesh
²Lecturer, Department of Japanese Studies, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract-Recent Rohingya exodus from the Rakhine State of Myanmar is undoubtedly one of the biggest humanitarian crises ever. Despite the severity of this crisis, it could not draw much attention from the global powers for a possible solution. Historically, ethnic differences in the Rakhine State of Myanmar have been primarily held responsible for the emergence of oppression against the Rohingya people. This paper tries to portray the role of regional and global powers in the recent Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State of Myanmar. The geopolitical economy of the South East Asian region is also focused here to show how it influenced the crisis in different perspectives. As this paper explores external interest and reluctance as the factors of the recent Rohingya crisis along with Myanmar’s internal ethnic diversities, the theoretical argument grows with neo-classical realist model which bridges between internal and external realities to evaluate any particular event in global politics. This paper also shows how and why the recent Rohingya crisis lacked attention from major global powers. The role of regional and global powers during the crisis and their appeasement towards Myanmar are elaborated and examined too here. While explaining the role of external powers, it is showed how Myanmar managed to eclipse one of the worst ever refugee crises because of lack of global pressure and response. Finally, the paper concludes with showing the obstacles in resolving the Rohingya crisis with a critical evaluation of the role of international community.

Key Words: Rohingya, Geopolitics, Ethnicity, Great Power, Refugee.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Rohingya crisis is one of the worst and most complex humanitarian crises of our living memory. Myanmar’s persuasion of a ‘scorched earth policy’ of ‘three all’s policy’—kill all, burn all, loot all is backed by six decades of institutionalized and systematic killing and persecution. The recent surge of violence against the Rohingya minorities of Rakhine state forced almost a million Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh since late August of 2017, making it more urgent than ever. Geographically Myanmar possesses significant position among the Southeast Asian countries, and it is also considered as the corridor of connecting Southeast Asia and South Asia. Her access to the Bay of Bengal has also increased its geo-strategic importance in this region

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