In the last four years, Myanmar has gone from a "no phone country" to a "smart phone country". A people most of whom never used any kind of phones or ever had an e-mail account now consists of accomplished users of Facebook, Viber and other applications. In this research project, we ask questions about how and for what purposes social media are used, about interaction between commanders, officers and troops, and about ethnic armed groups' interaction with civilians in areas under their control.
Between 2012 and 2016, the number of smart phone users in Myanmar grew from 1.7 million to 51 million. This happened in a transitional period from a military dictatorship to a more open, semi-democratic regime. The transition was accompanied by a partial peace process affecting some parts of the country, while communal violence and armed conflict increased dramatically in other areas.
This project studies the ways by which the use of social media either exacerbates conflict or helps to build peace, and emphasizes gender-based and other violence against civilians. The data gathered will be used to test and contribute to peace research theory about conflict termination. This will be studied by:
- interviewing business executives as well as representatives of the country's many armed groups and the national army
- monitoring the use of social media
- using a specially designed smartphone application to collect data about clashes and violent incidents.
PRIO researchers will work together with researchers at the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security (MIPS). MIPS is a non-governmental, non-partisan, independent research-based policy “think-and-do-tank” of academics, veterans of the peace process and security sectors, former exiles, prodemocracy activists, and international experts.
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway's NORGLOBAL programme.
Julie Marie Hansen Presents Paper on the Use of Social Media and the Prevention of SGBV
Julie Marie Hansen, Doctoral Researcher at PRIO, presented a paper at
the international conference ‘Social Media in Armed Conflict’ on 25-26 November
2020.
Extended deadline: Call for Papers: Social Media in Armed Conflict
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security (MIPS) invite submissions of abstracts for papers to be presented at the Social Media in Armed Conflict conference, to be held on 25-26 November 2020. The conference will focus on the broad theme of social media and digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) in armed conflict and peace processes, with a particular focus on Myanmar. The deadline for submitting an abstract is now 28 August, 2020 (extended, see submission details below).
PRIO Researcher Gives Talk on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict
On 2 August, Julie Marie Hansen gave a talk about sexual violence in armed conflict at KSAS, Humanity Institute in Myitkyina, Myanmar. Hansen introduced current theories on the causes and consequences of conflict-related sexual violence, and an overview of efforts to prevent and mitigate the impact of this type of violence.
NORGLOBAL2 Kickoff Features Presentations of Three New PRIO Projects
New Blog on Women's Use of Facebook in Myanmar
With so much attention on the destructive role of Facebook in Myanmar, Doctoral Researcher Julie M. Hansen points out the constructive side of Facebook by bringing in examples of how women in Myanmar use of the social media platform. She writes:
"The
spread of hate speech and misinformation online that incites real-life violence
are serious issues that deserve the media attention they have received, and the
tech community must prioritise finding a solution. Yet, for a fuller
understanding of the role of Facebook – which has become such a dominant tool in
Myanmar for information and communication that is almost synonymous with the
internet – we should also recognise the platform’s constructive side. And this becomes apparent when we look at how
the social media platform is used by women."
New Project to Study Social Media, Armed Conflict and Gender in Myanmar
From early 2018, Julie Marie Hansen will start a three-year doctoral research project studying the gendered impacts of social media on armed conflict and peacebuilding in Myanmar.
Foreword to MIPS Annual Review 2020-21
Report - External Series
Annual Peace & Security Review 2020
Report - External Series
Telenor setter sine Myanmar-kunder i stor fare
Popular Article in Aftenposten
Pretending to be States: The Use of Facebook by Armed Groups in Myanmar
Journal Article in Journal of Contemporary Asia
Facebook’s Power in Myanmar
Popular Article in PRIO Blog
China, Cambodia and the Myanmar Crisis
Report - External Series
Breaking the Silence? The Role of Social Media in Raising Awareness about Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Conference Paper
Discussing nonviolence on Facebook. The protests in Myitkyina in April 2018 in the context of Christian Kachin ethno-nationalism
Conference Paper
The representations of the Syrian conflict in Russian social media
Conference Paper
Role of Social Media in the Rise of Buddhist extremism in Myanmar
Conference Paper
Psychological Warfare on Facebook: A Case from Myanmar
Conference Paper
Pretending to be States: The Use of Facebook by Armed Groups in Myanmar
Conference Paper
Annual Peace and Security Review 2019
Report - External Series
Human Security Concern: Necessity to access Facebook in Northern -Rakhine State and Southern Chin State
Conference Paper
Legitimizing the use of violence against civilian actors on social media: The case of Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Conference Paper
Trial by Facebook: The challenges to social media evidence
Conference Paper
Utilizing a mobile phone application and Facebook campaigns to reduce the risks of deaths and injuries from landmines and ERW among civilians in Myanmar's conflict zones
Conference Paper
Human Security Concern: Necessity to access Facebook in Northern-Rakhine State and Chin State
Conference Paper
The use of geospatial technologies in the Rohingya refugee’s crisis in Myanmar to prevent human rights violations and promote peace
Conference Paper
Will Myanmar’s Northern Alliance Join the Peace Process?
PRIO Policy Brief
Annual Peace and Security Review 2018
Report - External Series
Neighbors Matter: How Armed Groups Utilized Neighboring Countries to Sustain Armed Conflict in Myanmar
Book Chapter in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in Asia: Lessons in South-South Cooperation
The Other Side of Facebook in Myanmar
Popular Article in PRIO Blogs
