ABSTRACT

This article investigates how legitimate authority is forged in a tenuous ceasefire context by looking at how communities navigate dual administration by both the Government of Myanmar and the armed group, the Karen National Union (KNU), to secure access to land and forests. The findings identify two factors crucial to forging legitimate authority among civilians in mixed-control areas: ideological identification with authorities and authorities’ ability to fulfil their followers’ basic material needs. The findings show that although the government is in close competition with the KNU in providing for people’s material welfare in these areas, the KNU has an advantage in the ideological dimensions of legitimacy. The findings reinforce a broader idea that has become more commonplace in development thinking – that in order to make political settlements more conflict-sensitive and relevant to the lived realities of people impacted by armed conflict, state-building and peacebuilding must prioritise the governance preferences of local communities.

摘要

本文通过研究社区如何在缅甸政府和武装团体克伦民族联盟 (KNU) 的双重管理下确保获得土地和森林的权利，调查合法权威是如何在脆弱的停火背景下形成的。调查结果确定了在混合控制地区的平民中建立合法权威的两个关键因素：对当局的意识形态认同和当局满足其追随者基本物质需求的能力。调查结果表明，尽管政府在为这些领域的人民提供物质福利方面与克伦民族联盟展开了激烈的竞争，但克伦民族联盟在合法性的意识形态方面具有优势。