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 abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 A decade of reforms
2 Coup and reaction
3 Resistance and Revolution: Gen Z student 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
References
Index
DOI: 10.14324/111.9781806550654
Number of illustrations: 3
Publication date: 28 May 2026
PDF ISBN: 9781806550654
EPUB ISBN: 9781806550661
Hardback ISBN: 9781806550630
Paperback ISBN: 9781806550647
Related titles
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.