International Aid Partnerships Amidst Myanmar’s Revolution: Solidarity or Self-Preservation and Compliance?

Abstract

Along with its broader impact in the country, Myanmar’s 2021 coup and subsequent revolution have brought an upheaval amongst international aid agencies. As they have pivoted their programmes in the new context, international agencies have faced criticism from many Myanmar humanitarian and advocacy organisations. Drawing on interviews from 2022, this article argues that the way in which aid is given – in relation to context-specific conventions of reciprocity – is significant in creating meaning in partnerships. Engaging with Myanmar studies literature, the article contends that well-known overlapping values of sedana (goodwill), parahita (charity), and metta (loving kindness) inform Myanmar organisation leaders’ expectations of reciprocity in their relationship with international aid agencies in the context of Myanmar’s revolution. There is often a moral overlay on interpretations of aid partnerships, beyond the project-organised and contractual relationship that characterises the formal realm. Criticism of international aid is not new in Myanmar, yet the revolution has increased the stakes for local organisations and exposed new fractures in their relationships with their international partners. Transnational support is crucial amid the country’s revolution and many Myanmar organisation leaders seek relationships of solidarity with international agencies, yet diverging assumptions about reciprocity in partnerships fuel ongoing frustration.

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