Myanmar’s Spring Revolution
Students, higher education and political change
Marie Lall (Author), Ikuko Okamoto (Author)
On 1 February 2021 Myanmar’s military conducted a coup putting an end to a decade of reforms. Although it was the third coup in Myanmar’s history, it was received as a moral shock by a large part of the population, and the response was an unprecedented resistance movement branded as the Spring Revolution by the young people who are leading it.
Myanmar’s Spring Revolution is about the students and academics who played a key part in the post-coup protests and who are still fighting the Myanmar military, both by taking up arms and by creating their own higher education institutions. It aims to give Myanmar students a place to offer their views on their revolution and the future they are fighting for. In light of wars in Ukraine and Gaza the conflict in Myanmar has largely been forgotten and the youth-led resistance that is fighting the Myanmar military seems to have no witnesses. This book is a way of giving voice to those most affected by the coup, and those who are giving their lives for the future of their country. The protagonists here explain why the resistance is different this time, and how this revolution goes well beyond the protests against a military regime.
List of figures and tables
List of acronyms
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 A decade of reforms
2 Coup and reaction
3 Resistance and revolution: Gen Z students experiences and identities
4 Reclaiming higher education: Student-led provision and other solutions to support the Revolution
5 Student views and voices on the Spring Revolution and the future of Myanmar
Epilogue
Bibliography
DOI: 10.14324/111.9781806550654
Number of illustrations: 3
Publication date: 01 May 2026
EPUB ISBN: 9781806550661
Marie Lall (Author) 
Marie Lall is Professor of Education and South Asian Studies at the UCL Institute of Education. She is a South Asia specialist working on India, Pakistan and Myanmar, with over 30 years of experience in the region specialising in political issues and education. She has authored over 100 publications, including 12 widely cited books.
Ikuko Okamoto (Author)
Ikuko Okamoto is a professor in the Faculty of Global and Regional Studies and researcher at the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies at Toyo University in Japan. She is an agricultural economist who has been working on Myanmar for over 30 years. She is fluent in Burmese and has authored a large number of publications on rural development in Myanmar.
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Myanmar’s Spring Revolution
Students, higher education and political change
On 1 February 2021 Myanmar’s military conducted a coup putting an end to a decade of reforms. Although it was the third coup in Myanmar’s history, it was received as a moral shock by a large part of the population, and the response was an unprecedented resistance movement branded as the Spring Revolution by the young people who are leading it.
Myanmar’s Spring Revolution is about the students and academics who played a key part in the post-coup protests and who are still fighting the Myanmar military, both by taking up arms and by creating their own higher education institutions. It aims to give Myanmar students a place to offer their views on their revolution and the future they are fighting for. In light of wars in Ukraine and Gaza the conflict in Myanmar has largely been forgotten and the youth-led resistance that is fighting the Myanmar military seems to have no witnesses. This book is a way of giving voice to those most affected by the coup, and those who are giving their lives for the future of their country. The protagonists here explain why the resistance is different this time, and how this revolution goes well beyond the protests against a military regime.