Richard Roewer’s research while affiliated with University of Oxford and other places

Table of Contents Introduction Taking Stock of Myanmar’s Political Transformation since 2011 Marco Bünte, Patrick Köllner, Richard Roewer First Published April 27, 2020; pp. 249–264 Towards Legislative Institutionalisation? Emerging Patterns of Routinisation in Myanmar’s Parliament Renaud Egreteau First Published May 5, 2020; pp. 265–285 Three Faces of Party Organisation in the National League for Democracy Richard Roewer First Published February 14, 2020; pp. 286–306 Political Representation by Ethnic Parties? Electoral Performance and Party-Building Processes among Ethnic Parties in Myanmar Kristian Stokke First Published January 22, 2020; pp. 307–336 Containing the Self-Interested Individual: Moral Scepticism of Political Parties in Myanmar Matthew J. Walton First Published May 5, 2020; pp. 337–357 Class Dismissed? Explaining the Absence of Economic Injustice in the NLD’s Governing Agenda Gerard McCarthy First Published May 5, 2020; pp. 358–380 Myanmar's Transition without Justice Catherine Renshaw First Published January 23, 2020; pp. 381–403

Introductory article to special issue on political transformation in Myanmar, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 38(3), online first, April 2020

The National League for Democracy (NLD) is a decisive actor in Myanmar’s ongoing political transformation process and yet a clear understanding of its structure is absent from the discourse on the party. This article analyses the NLD based on Richard Katz’s and Peter Mair’s “three faces of party organisation.” It examines the relationship between the NLD in public office, the NLD on the ground, and the NLD central office. The findings characterise the NLD as a highly centralised party in which most decision-making power is concentrated at the party’s central office. Select layers of the party’s network retain the power to influence important decisions, such as the nomination of candidates for elections. Yet, their ability to do so is due to the lack of rules and regulations. This article argues that the structure of the NLD is the product of the dynamics that governed the formation and development of the party under authoritarian rule. Fears of a partial authoritarian resurgence at the hands of Myanmar’s armed forces (Tatmadaw) and the perception that its authoritarian structures constitute a competitive advantage within Myanmar’s hybrid regime inform the NLD’s decision to refrain from reforming and democratising its structure. Yet, leaving the party’s structure unchanged stands to negatively impact the party’s political profile and its role in Myanmar’s political transformation process. In the long term, it might endanger the party’s stability and contravene the party’s political principles. The article draws on interviews with NLD politicians conducted during an extensive research stay in Myanmar from 2018 to 2019.