Ph.D. Candidate
Mr MASAO Imamura

Geography of Myanmar (Burmese) Migration

Studies of geography and population have been predominantly approached from the vantage point of the state capital with a strong sendantarist optic. Empirical studies reveal, however, that this simplification is problematic.

The state's central and provincial regulations on cross-border movements are implemented unevenly in practice. While the state is often talked of as a monolithic entity, in reality it comprises heterogeneous parts with conflicting interests. The boundary between the state and non-state too turns out to be blurry. Indeed "illegal" cross-border activities, prosecutable by the state, more often than not involve officials.

Rather than relegating borderlands to peripheries, this study places mobility and boundary at the center of inquiry and presents a geography of peoples who move across and around borders. And by doing so I hope my study will show how the centers and peripheries have been and are being formed in relation to one another.