Myanmar

The media environment of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (formerly known as the Union of Burma) went from being extremely controlled, under military dictatorship from 1962 to 2010, to sudden democratization since 2011. The country has an estimate population of 51.4 million, according to its 2014 census, with Burmese Buddhists representing the majority of the population along with 135 recognized ethnic groups. Media in Myanmar and the laws that regulate them represent an interesting study of the patterns of media evolution when countries emerge from authoritarian political system to sudden democratic reforms, which reconfigures the dynamics of the interplay among media, society, and state.

This entry provides a brief overview of media development in Myanmar and its landscape after democratization. Then, the entry explores ...