Pots, Pans and Guns

In February 2021, the military in Myanmar overthrew a democratically elected government. Pots, Pans and Guns examines the events that have shaped modern Myanmar, a country of several complex paradoxes. It is a devoutly Buddhist country, yet one of the most violent, with the world's longest running continuous civil war and the deadliest conflict in Asia in 2026. It also has the world's second largest number of stateless people after the Palestinians, and in 2023, it became the world's largest producer of opium.

The author spent years living and working in Myanmar during some of its most defining moments in recent times, among them the 2015 and 2020 elections, the 2017 Rohingya crisis, the 2021 coup d'état, and the 2025 earthquake. Drawing on firsthand experience and direct observation of events, he traces the country's colonial history; its military dictatorships; the military's dominance in the country's politics and economy; the Rohingya issue; and the politicization of religion by the country's military. Additionally, he provides key information about the wide array of armed groups and organisations in the country, and also analyses the country's long-running insurgencies and its struggle for democracy, which led to a brief democratic transition in the 2000s that was brutally truncated with the 2021 coup d'etat.

Succinct and straightforward, this book also provides a riveting account of the execution the 2021 coup d'etat; the rise of new armed groups; and the emergence of a determined armed resistance to the coup that has resulted in a nationwide civil war with devastating humanitarian consequences. Whether you are discovering Myanmar for the first time, or you want to deepen your understanding of the country, this book offers a balanced, engaging and well researched history of the country, and an accurate, firsthand account of the 2021 coup and its aftermath.

Note: The book has 24 photos, 5 organograms of the country's security agencies, and 5 maps. The photographs in the eBook edition are in full color, whilst the photographs in the print editions are in greyscale.