Welcome! Wominjeka! Mingalabar!
The Myanmar Research Network (MRN) was created in 2019 by a small group of researchers from the University of Melbourne, who saw a need to connect researchers and students working on and/or interested in Myanmar. MRN now includes staff across several faculties, along with post grad and undergraduate students and other academics and experts within and beyond University of Melbourne.
မြန်မာ့ရေးရာ သုတေသနကွန်ရက် (MRN) သည် မဲလ်ဘုန်းတက္ကသိုလ်ရှိ သုတေသီအဖွဲ့ငယ်လေးမှ ၂၀၁၉ နှစ်တွင် စတင်တည်ထောင်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ သုတေသီများ နှင့်အတူ ကျောင်းသားများ သာမက မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအကြောင်း စိတ်၀င်စားကြသူများ အချင်းချင်း ချိတ်ဆက်လုပ်ဆောင်ရန် လိုအပ်နေကြောင်း လေ့လာခဲ့ရသဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းခဲ့ခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။လက်ရှိ တွင် ကွန်ရက်သည် မဲလ်ဘုန်းတက္ကသိုလ်မှ ဘွဲ့လွန်နှင့် ဘွဲ့ကြို ကျောင်းသားများအပြင် အခြားသော ပြင်ပရှိ ပညာရပ်နယ်ပယ်ပေါင်းစုံမှ ပညာရှင်များ၊ ကျွမ်းကျင်သူများလည်း ပါ၀င်လျက်ရှိသည်။
Our Aims
Consolidate, catalyse and resource new and existing collaborative research projects.
Foster a research community of practice with Myanmar scholars and students.
Strengthen research impact with key stakeholders in Myanmar and Australia, including internal stakeholders across the University.
Work with us! Download our flyer for details
PK Forum
The PK Forum began in 2012 as a place to discuss and debate issues of development, civil society and aid in Myanmar. The Forum is now supported and edited by the Myanmar Research Network at the University of Melbourne.
PK stands for Paung Ku which in Burmese means bridging or connection – and this Forum aims to connect academics, aid workers, local organisations, government, and students around key questions of Myanmar’s future.
This means we are interested in your ideas. Please send us your ideas for articles or blogs or for uploading new stuff to our resource section. Articles can be in English, Burmese or ethnic languages, but need to be less than 500 words. These can be emailed to Tamas Wells at the University of Melbourne (Forum Editor) at pkdiscussionforum@gmail.com.
While supported and edited by the Myanmar Research Network at the University of Melbourne, and originating from the ‘Paung Ku’ initiative, the Forum does not represent the views of the Myanmar Research Network or Myanmar NGO Paung Ku. The views expressed in this Forum are those of the individuals involved.
Get connected
If you would like to stay in touch with the Myanmar Research Network and receive updates about events, publications and projects, or
if you would like to collaborate with us or request specific information about the network, please contact MRN coordinator Tamas Wells.
The Myanmar Research Network regularly engages in cutting edge research, seminars and events focusing on socio-political, historical, economic, development and other issues in Myanmar or affecting Myanmar communities.
Books
He, B., Breen, M. G. & Allison-Reumann, L. (2023). Comparative Federalism. Asia Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003346784
He, B. & Breen, M. G. (2021). Deliberative Democracy in Asia (1st ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003102441-1
Wells, T. (2021). Narrating Democracy in Myanmar: The Struggle Between Activists, Democratic Leaders and Aid Workers (1 ed.). Amsterdam University Press. doi:10.1515/9789048553792
Book chapters
Décobert, A, & Wells, T. (2024). 'Redefining Humanitarianism? Civil Society Responses to Myanmar’s Political and Humanitarian “Crisis”', in Defiance, civil resistance and experiences of violence under military rule in Myanmar by C.Jacquet (ed.). Bangkok: IRASEC
Breen, M. G. (2022). "Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Nepal and Myanmar." In Emerging Federal Structures in the Post-Cold War Era, 1 ed., edited by Keil, Soeren, and Kropp, Sabine, 141-163. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-93669-3_7
Wells, T. (2022). Challenges for Myanmar’s Civil Society: Depoliticization and Yangon’s Urban Development under the NLD Government. Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Asia (pp. 129-143). doi:10.4324/9781003256809-10
Breen, M. (2021). Nepal: Participatory and Deliberative Constitution-making in a Divided Society. In Breen, M., He, B. & Fishkin, J. (Eds.) Deliberative Democracy in Asia (1 ed., pp. 70-86) Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003102441-5
Breen, M. & He, B. (2021). Deliberative Democracy in Asia: Past, Present and Future. In He, B., Fishkin, J. & Breen, M. (Eds.) Deliberative Democracy in Asia (1 ed., pp. 1-19) Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003102441-1
He, B. & Breen, M. (2021). Developing multiculturalism in Myanmar: Citizen perspectives from deliberative surveys. In Halse, C. & Kennedy, K. J. (Eds.) Multiculturalism in Turbulent Times (1 ed., pp. 141-158) Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003090090-9
Articles
Wells, T., Htet, S., Breen, M., (2024) ‘Conflict in Myanmar Paves the Way for a New Way of Democracy’. The Diplomat, June 2024. doi:10.54377/f08b-fa3f
Wells, T. & Maung, P. P. (2024) ‘Amid revolution, Myanmar’s NGOs face a deficit of donor solidarity’, New Mandala, June 2024
Wells, T., & Maung, P. P. (2024). International Aid Partnerships Amidst Myanmar’s Revolution: Solidarity or Self-Preservation and Compliance? Journal of Contemporary Asia, 1–20. doi:10.1080/00472336.2024.2320415
Nwe Hlaing, T. T., Wells, T., & Décobert, A. (2024). Seeing like a donor: the unintended harms of rendering civil society legible. Development in Practice, 1–12. doi:10.1080/09614524.2024.2362783
Pyae Eain, P. H., (2024) 'The growth of inter-ethnic solidarity among Myanmar university students after the military coup' Melbourne Asia Review. 18. doi:10.37839/MAR2652-550X18.4
Bhusal, T. & Breen, M. G. (2023). Federalism and local governance: Exploring multilingualism in local decision-making in Nepal. REGIONAL AND FEDERAL STUDIES, 33(2), pp. 187-207. doi:10.1080/13597566.2021.1940970
Payne, I. & Breen, M. (2023). Hourglass federalism in Nepal: the role of local government in post-conflict constitutions. Indian Law Review, 7(2), pp. 177-200. doi:10.1080/24730580.2022.2162281
Wells, T. (2022). 'Bright, shiny, inconsequential'? The rise and fall of innovation labs in the aid sector. THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY, 44(2), pp. 266-283. doi:10.1080/01436597.2022.2144205
Breen, M. & Decobert, A. (2021). Is the military coup in Myanmar the death knell of democracy and federalism? Melbourne Asia Review, 5 doi:10.37839/mar2652-550x5.15
Day, B. & Wells, T. (2021). What parliamentarians think about Australia's post-COVID-19 aid program: The emerging 'cautious consensus' in Australian aid. ASIA & THE PACIFIC POLICY STUDIES, 8(3), pp. 384-400. doi:10.1002/app5.338
Décobert, A. & Wells, T. (2020). Interpretive Complexity and Crisis: the History of International Aid to Myanmar. The European Journal of Development Research, 32(1), pp. 294-315. doi:10.1057/s41287-019-00238-y
Doffegnies, A. & Wells, T. (2021). The Vernacularization of Human Rights Discourse in Myanmar: Rejection, Hybridization and Strategic Avoidance. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ASIA, 52(2), pp. 247-266. doi:10.1080/00472336.2020.1865432
Wells, T. & Lamb, V. (2021). The imaginary of a modern city: Post-politics and Myanmar's urban development. Urban Studies: an international journal for research in urban studies, 59(14), pp. 2875-2892. doi:10.1177/00420980211044006
Diprose, R., Savirani, A. & Wells, T. (2020). Gender-inclusive Development and Decentralised Governance: Promoting Women’s Voice and Influence through Collective Action in Rural Indonesia. pp. 1-17. doi:10.46580/124335
Wells, T. (2020). Narratives of Donor Accountability in Support to Peace Processes: The Case of the Joint Peace Fund in Myanmar. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 15(1), pp. 18-30. doi:10.1177/1542316619868436
Well, T. & Lamb, V. (2020). Dilemmas for advocacy organisations in Myanmar’s changing political landscape. Melbourne Asia Review, 1 pp. 1-9. doi:10.37839/mar2652-550x1.2
The Myanmar Research Network has for many years held a place for fellowships.
Myanmar-Australia Visiting Fellowship Program 2026
Call for expressions of interest for a fully funded short term research fellowship in Australia for a Myanmar academic or researcher.
Closing date November 22nd, 2025
The goal of the fellowship program is to build deeper connections between University of Melbourne/ANU and Myanmar academics and researchers in region and catalyze new high quality collaborative research.
The Myanmar Research Network at University of Melbourne in collaboration with the Myanmar Research Centre at Australian National University (ANU) - and with support of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - invite expressions of interest for a Myanmar scholar/researcher for a fully funded short term (1-2 month) fellowship in Australia. The fellowship will be in July 2026.
The fellowship includes time at both University of Melbourne and the ANU in Canberra and participation in the ANU Myanmar Update conference in July.
The fellowship offers
- Fully funded accommodation and travel from anywhere in the Asia-Pacific, and within Australia, visa cost reimbursement, and a living allowance for food and essentials
- Facilities to do research at both universities with a view to contributing to work on an academic publication by the fellow, and possible collaborative work on later publications
- One-year remote access to library facilities
Fellows are expected to
- Give one or more seminars or public lectures in Melbourne and Canberra
- Make one or more contributions, in Burmese or English, to working papers or blogs at either or both universities
- Meet with researchers to discuss and develop potential new partnerships, and with researchers and policymakers off campus as appropriate, such as NGOs and Australian Government
In 2026 we seek fellows with expertise and interest in
- Violence against women
- Justice provision
Applicants should have research or work experience or both, related to Myanmar, on one or more of these themes. We especially encourage applicants who have been doing research in these areas in the post-2021 context.
Eligibility
To apply you must
- Be a researcher or academic of Myanmar nationality based in the Asia-Pacific (this includes those who are active in research but may not have formal institutional affiliation)
- Have a postgraduate research qualification (e.g., Masters’ degree with research thesis component, or a coursework Masters’ degree with other experience comparable to a research thesis). Applicants could also have completed a PhD or be a current PhD candidate
- Demonstrate research interests and experience in one or more of the above identified thematic areas. Expressions of interest in other fields or areas such as medicine, law, agriculture etc will not be considered for this round
- Have high-level spoken and written English (indicate examinations and qualifications in curriculum vitae).
- Hold a current passport that can be used to obtain an Australia visa, and be able to travel to Australia in 2026
Members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.
Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed.
Any questions can be directed to Tamas Wells at University of Melbourne.
Steering committee
The Steering Committee members provide overall strategic guidance to the Myanmar Research Network, as well as managing day-to-day activities of the network such as collaborative research endeavours, engagement, events, and so on.
Dr. Michael G Breen, Chair
Michael’s research focuses on federalism in Asia, and the management of ethnic diversity. He is the author of ‘The Road to Federalism in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka: Finding the Middle Ground’ (2018, Routledge) and has contributed to Nepal’s constitution-making process that established it as a federal democratic republic. Michael’s research also explores the role of deliberative democracy and the use of deliberative polling in constitution-making and conflict management. Prior to academia, Michael was a policy maker, negotiator and project manager in various government departments in Australia and international organisations including the United Nations Development Programme. His professional background is in Indigenous rights and native title, political inclusion and environmental conservation.
School of Social and Political Sciences | McKenzie Research Fellow
Federalism and Ethnic Politics in Asia – Deliberative Democracy – Comparative Politics – Constitutional Design
Dr. Anne Décobert, Research Coordinator
Anne is a development studies scholar and anthropologist whose research focuses broadly on the intersections between conflict, development, aid systems, processes of state formation, and the rights of and struggles for self-determination of Indigenous and marginalised peoples. Strongly committed to ethically engaged research, Anne is particularly interested in approaches to addressing inequities and injustices faced by Indigenous and marginalised communities whose lives are shaped by structural violence and conflict. Myanmar is her main country specialisation, but Anne has also worked elsewhere in Asia and with Indigenous communities in Australia. In addition to her academic research, Anne previously worked as a development practitioner and consultant with local and international aid agencies in Myanmar, Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Anne’s publications include The Politics of Aid to Burma: A Humanitarian Struggle on the Thai-Burmese Border (Routledge, 2016).
School of Social and Political Sciences | Anthropology and Development Studies | Lecturer
Development – International Humanitarian Law
Dr. Tamas Wells, Research Coordinator and Editor of PK Forum
Tamas Wells is a Research Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences. His research focuses on meanings of democracy, governance and accountability in Southeast Asia and the role of international aid agencies and “civil society. His doctoral dissertation examined the Burmese opposition movement in the lead up to the historic 2015 elections in Myanmar and diverging narratives of democracy within the movement, and amongst its international supporters. Before beginning his doctoral studies in 2012, he worked as an aid and development adviser and consultant with various NGOs including Save the Children and Oxfam, including seven years living and working in Myanmar. Tamas has been active in developing stronger connections between academics and practitioners and policymakers in the field of aid and development and is the editor of the PK Forum, an online discussion forum on aid and development in Myanmar.
School of Social and Political Sciences | Research Fellow
Democracy in Myanmar – Civil Society – Politics of International Aid
Community
The Myanmar Research Network community brings together academics, practitioners and students who are working on and/or interested in Myanmar. Meet some of our members!
Dr. Aung Zaw Zaw Phyo is a Ph.D. scholar at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia. He has a background in epidemiology and dentistry. He completed his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Mahidol University, Thailand in 2013; and his MSc in Epidemiology (with Distinction) at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2017. His research work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals and his unique research findings were also presented at international conferences. Dr. Aung is also an invited reviewer for peer-reviewed journals. He is a frequently invited speaker for monitoring and evaluation, systematic review and research methodology for knowledge sharing and internal training in Myanmar. He has previously worked as a research coordinator/manager/consultant of the public health research sector in Myanmar and Thailand.
Monash University | Doctoral Scholar
Neuro-Epidemiology – Oral Epidemiology – Geriatric Epidemiology – Mental Health – Cognitive Impairment & Dementia – Health-related Quality of Life
Bethia Burgress is interested in trans-sectoral collaborations for social change that challenge Eurocentric and colonial structures. Her work aims to build long-term engagements and solidarities across geographic borders, combining with indigenous, subaltern, and decolonial theories to challenge dominant and unilinear narratives. Her PhD explores contested conceptions of sovereignty, justice and belonging in Eastern Myanmar. She also undertakes value-aligned consulting and freelance projects, including those that enable public engagement and prioritise the expertise of those with lived experience. She was born on Gunai Country, raised on the lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, and currently live and work on Kulin Nations lands. These are the sovereign lands of First Nations people, the occupation of which continues at the expense of Indigenous futures. Her ongoing work aims to meaningfully contribute to dismantling colonial structures and supporting Indigenous and community-led systems of governance and justice in their varied manifestations.
University of Melbourne | PhD Candidate
Research for Social Change – Coloniality of Justice – Identity and Subalternity – Community-led development in Southeast Asia
Mr. Christopher Lamb worked with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia for 32 years. He had two postings in Burma/Myanmar. He was Australia’s Ambassador from 1986 until 1989. He also worked with the Red Cross in Geneva from 2000-2010 on humanitarian diplomacy.
Australia Myanmar Institute | President
Myanmar Politics – Development – Social & Cultural Issues – Human rights – Sustainable Development Goals
Htet Yamone Aung was born and raised in Mandalay, Myanmar, Htet Yamone Aung and studied at Paung Daw Oo Monastic Education High school where she also worked as a volunteer staff/teacher. With a passion for youth capacity building, Mary participated in youth leadership programs and travelled around the world which enabled her to widen her horizons with unique experiences. Because of her achievements and her dedication to further her study abroad, she was awarded “Dean’s Award” from the University of Melbourne. She is now studying for her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, minoring in Environmental Studies, and taking a concurrent diploma in Chinese Language Studies. Mary has been working as a freelance Burmese tutor, interpreter, and translator since early 2018. She is graduating in July 2021. She wishes to contribute to back to her community afterwards.
University of Melbourne | Undergraduate Burmese Interpreter &Translator
Development Studies – Environmental Studies – Burmese Language – Education – Youth Capacity Building
Professor Emeritus Joseph Lo Bianco (Joe) was appointed chair of language and literacy education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne in February 2004 and retired on 30 June 2020, when he was appointed Professor Emeritus. He is a specialist in minority language rights, literacy and social opportunity, language policy and planning with a specific interest in conflict mitigation in multi-ethnic societies and a specific focus on educational equity for immigrant and Indigenous populations, multilingual and anti-racist education and language revitalisation. His academic analysis and theorisation of language problems in education and society is complemented by extensive real-world policy writing, advising and engagement in 25 international locations. In recent years this has included a 8 year project in Southeast Asia for UNICEF under the title of Language, Education and Social Cohesion, focusing on conflict resolution in multiethnic settings in Malaysia, Myanmar and South Thailand and as consultant to a four year project on Multilingual Cities in 12 European municipalities responding to recent inflows of immigrants. In 1987, he authored Australia’s first national language policy, between 1990 and 2002 was Director of Language Australia/The National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia.
MGSE University of Melbourne | Language and Literacy Education
Peace & Conflict Studies – Multilingualism & Education – Education & Literacy – Indigeneity & Ethnic Relations – Cultural Diversity – Language Rights
Nyein Aye Soe graduated with Bachelor of Science, majoring in Human Nutrition (1st Batch) in 2020 from the University of Melbourne and will began master of Dietetics at Monash University in 2021. She is enthusiastic in conducting research projects. Her aim is to become a researcher in nutrition. She was born and raised in Mandalay, Myanmar. Throughout her studies, she took part in different organisation and student clubs. The most recent one was ASEAN Youth Advocates where she inspired the youth in Myanmar.
University of Melbourne | Bachelor of Science Class of 2020
Dietetics Studies – Human Nutrition – Exercise Nutrition – Public Health – Nutrition – Quality of Life
Pan Ei Ei Kyaw graduated Bachelor of Agricultural Science in 2006 and Master of Agricultural Science in 2012 from Yezin Agricultural University (YAU), Myanmar. While in YAU, she earned awards for her academic performance. Those awards are Minister’s outstanding students, Mitsubishi scholarship and Myanma Awba scholarship. Since 2008, she has been working as a teaching staff in YAU, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. As a teaching staff for more than ten years, she enjoys teaching, conducting research, training and extension. Also, she uses her skills and knowledge to contribute to agricultural human resource and development of the society. She believes that she can further improve her quality and skills. Thus, she becomes a PhD student in the Soils and the Environment research group at the University of Melbourne by receiving John Allwright Fellowship from Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). For leadership skills, she attends the 2nd cohort John Allwright Fellowship executive leadership (JAFel) program at the University of New England, Armidale.
University of Melbourne | PhD Candidate
Soil Science – Plant Nutrition – Organic Amendments
Soe Soe Htway is a PhD student under School of Geography in the University of Melbourne since June 2018. Her PhD research examines the impacts of foreign investment in farmland on rural livelihoods of Myanmar, the broader implications for rural development. She gained her master’s degree majoring in Natural Resources Management from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) of Thailand in 2013 and her master’s thesis was “Assessment of Farmers’ Coping Strategies for Water Scarcity Under Rainfed Agriculture in the Dry Zone of Myanmar”. She received a bachelor’s degree from Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) of Myanmar in 2005. She worked as a researcher for a project, “Livelihoods and Extension Services among Smallholder Farmers of Myanmar” funded by ACIAR in AIT (2014 – 2017). She also worked as a tutor in YAU (2008 – 2011).
University of Melbourne | PhD Candidate
Farmland – Rural Livelihoods – Investment – Climate Change Adaptation – Rural Development
Fellows
The Myanmar Research Network has for many years held a place for fellowships.