The Rohingya Crisis aims to analyse communal violence in western Myanmar and highlight its transnational security implications. Based on ethnographic research in the Bangladesh–Myanmar borderland, the book analyses the complex often-contested narratives of the dynamics of communal violence and the role of various actors in this conflict. The Rohingya Crisis argues that the communal violence in western Myanmar has cascading security ramifications for South and Southeast Asia, and cautions that continued violence in the Rakhine state might lead to an escalation of transnational crime and militancy in the region. The political dynamics in Myanmar intersects with a rapidly evolving terrorist threat landscape in the Southeast Asian region, presenting an unenviable challenge of managing the Rohingya Crisis.
Contents:
- Introduction
- Origin of the Rohingyas: Contested Narratives
- Rohingya Crisis: International Responses
- Rohingyas in Bangladesh: State Responses and Implications
- Rohingyas in Myanmar: Views from Nay Pyi Taw
- Threat of Rohingya Militancy: Regional and Global Linkages
- Rohingyas in Southeast Asia: Threats and Responses
- Conclusion
Readership: Students, professionals in security studies and Southeast Asian Studies, general public.
Professor Rohan Gunaratna is Professor of Security Studies at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, and Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Singapore. He received his Masters from the University of Notre Dame in the US where he was Hesburgh Scholar, and his PhD from the University of St Andrews in the UK, where he was British Chevening Scholar. A former Senior Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Centre at the United States Military Academy at West Point and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Gunaratna was invited to testify on the structure of al Qaeda before the 9/11 Commission. The author of 15 books, including "Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror" (University of Columbia Press), Gunaratna interviewed terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other conflict zones. For advancing international security cooperation, Gunaratna received the Major General Ralph H Van Deman Award in June 2014.
Dr Jolene Jerard is a Research Fellow and Manager (Capacity Building) at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), a Centre of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She received her PhD in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK. She specialises on terrorist and extremist groups in Asia. She was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS) in Kabul, Afghanistan. She has conducted field research in several threat zones including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Southern Philippines and Southern Thailand. In that connection she interviewed numerous leaders and members of terrorist and politico-religious groups Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She has co-edited several books including, Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-Radicalisation: New Approaches to Counter-Terrorism, (UK: Routledge, 2012); Countering Extremism: Building Social Resilience through Community Engagement, (London: Imperial College Press, 2013) and Resilience and Resolve: Communities Against Terrorism (London: Imperial College Press, 2015).
Iftekharul Bashar is an Associate Research Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He specialises in the study of radicalisation, terrorism, and political violence in South Asia. Bashar holds a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Dhaka. Bashar has received awards from the United Nations and Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka for his essays. He has authored a chapter in the book titled Afghanistan after the Western Drawdown, (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), 2015.
