Civil society, war and development: producing territory through the Salween Peace Park

Civil society, war and development: producing territory through the Salween Peace Park

Abstract: In response to ongoing calls to conceptualise territory from postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, this talk conceptualises rebel territory from the vantage point of the Salween Peace Park. Launched in 2018, the Salween Peace Park is located in Mutraw, Karen State; an area of Myanmar controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU). The Peace Park’s launch inaugurated a new phase in the decades-long conflict between the KNU and the Myanmar government, marked by more egalitarian relations between civilians, civil society groups, and combatants, even amidst war. I propose that the Peace Park sheds light on how contemporary warfare makes territory, and the role that civil society and development aid play therein.

Biography
Shona Loong is a lecturer in political geography at the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on conflict, peacebuilding, and the politics of international development in Myanmar and its borderlands. She has published her work in Political Geography and Geoforum, and she also writes for various think-tanks, international organisations, and non-profit entities. Some of the organisations Shona worked with include the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, the Berghof Foundation, and UN Women Myanmar.