Managing Change: Executive Policymaking in Myanmar

Abstract

This report provides an introduction to policy making in Myanmar. It focuses on policy making by the executive branch of the Union government in Nay Pyi Taw, rather than within the bureaucracy or out in the states and regions. Its primary goal is to frame a discourse on how policymaking actors and processes in the country can be strengthened, which the authors feel is essential to catalyze and sustain Myanmar’s overall transition to full democracy, economic growth, and peace. As such, this report has four interrelated objectives: To conceptualize how “policymaking” is best understood in Myanmar’s context; To detail the key structures and processes that have defined policymaking in Myanmar since independence; To describe the overall policymaking architecture at present; To identify useful conceptual frameworks to help key government stakeholders strengthen policymaking processes