Territorialization-from-below: Community-rooted strategies towards public authority in Kamoethway, Myanmar

Publication date:19th June 2026

Authors: Naw Pe The Law, Carl Middleton

Further details on the article, visit the journal at: https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/8618/

Abstract:

This article analyses territorialization 'from-above' and 'from-below' in Kamoethway, Tanintharyi Region in relation to the public authorities of the Karen National Union (KNU) and changing Myanmar governments. Fieldwork in Karen villages of the Kamoethway area details how community-based organizations and community leaders organized a social movement, documented situated knowledge, and claimed rights to govern territory locally including resources and land, which we term 'territorialization-from-below'. We analyze how strategies of resistance, consent and co-option empowered Kamoethway communities after the 2012 ceasefire. However, following the 2021 coup, while KNU's public authority expanded, community-based activism reduced due to the ongoing conflict, KNU security policies, and restrictions on civil freedoms.

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