Passeri unpacks the highly polarized and dysfunctional reaction of the international community vis-à-vis Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, as well as the strategy utilized by the ruling junta to counter the diplomatic fallout of the power grab and ensuing civil war.

The book shows that Myanmar’s military-installed regime is neither irrational in its foreign policy choices, nor marginalized on the global stage due to Western sanctions and isolation. Quite on the contrary, the troubled and conflict-prone Southeast Asian country currently enjoys a growing geopolitical centrality in the region and beyond, rooted in its position as a gateway to the increasingly contested Indo-Pacific, which allowed the junta to establish intimate ties with key countries such as China, Russia, India, and Japan. It challenges a series of cliches and prejudices that characterize the ongoing debate on the international dimension of the Myanmar crisis.

A vital read for academics and scholars interested in Myanmar’s relations with the outside world, international relations and political science.