Abstract: "While international humanitarian access in Burma has opened up
over the past decade and a half, the ongoing debate regarding the appropriate
relationship between politics and humanitarian assistance remains unresolved.
This debate has become especially limiting in regards to protection
measures for internally displaced persons (IDPs) which are increasingly seen
to fall within the mandate of humanitarian agencies. Conventional IDP
protection frameworks are biased towards a top-down model of politicallyaverse

Abstract: "Burmese refugees in Thailand maintain economic, social and
political links with their country of origin, but these transnational activities
are influenced by the politics and level of development of the country of
origin and the host country. Through transnational activities, refugees can
have a positive impact on the home country by contributing to peace-building
and development or they can enhance conflict, as the discussion on
community engagement and political transnationalism will illustrate. Clearly,

Naypyidaw, now three years old, was designed and built to serve as the seat of Burma’s military government. For the ordinary Burmese who have to live and work there, it’s a city without a hear