%0 Journal Article
%T State
%A Lionel Beehner
%J Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs
%@ 2349-0039
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2347797017748464
%X This article explains cross-border uses of force against ethnic armed groups along Myanmar¡¯s bloody borders with China and Thailand. I trace the history of Burma¡¯s ethnic disputes, its state-society relations, and the ¡°modernization¡± of its military doctrine to understand how its state-building enterprise can shape the use of force along a state¡¯s frontier. I treat each of the border regions as distinct sub-categories to highlight variation in the micro-dynamics as well as types and conditions under which the use of state-orchestrated violence occurs. First, I point to the role of greater state-building ¨C extractive, coercive, etc. ¨C and how it influences the use of force along border regions. Second, I explore the modernization of Burma¡¯s military and evolution of its doctrine ¨C this includes early efforts by the tatmadaw¡¯s post-1988 shift toward a more conventional counterinsurgency strategy. An implication of my theory is that more peaceful relations between states perversely can create the conditions for more cross-border violence, as there are greater opportunities for states to either ¡°pool¡± border security or outsource the use of force to proxies or paramilitary forces
%K Burma
%K Myanmar
%K state-building
%K civil-military relations
%K Tatmadaw
%K civil war
%K counterinsurgency
%K state-society relations
%K China
%K Thailand
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2347797017748464