Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Military takeover in Myanmar is a test for Biden’s foreign policy

People in this story

(AP Photo)
Anti-coup protesters run away from tear gas launched by security forces in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, March 1, 2021.

One of President Biden’s best options to peacefully return Myanmar to a civilian government after last month’s military takeover is to work closely with the leader of the United Nations, according to Northeastern faculty experts.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres of Portugal could appoint a representative to play a behind-the-scenes mediation role that may include engaging Australia, one of the leading regional powers, to lure Myanmar back on the path to democracy, but China looms large and Biden’s diplomatic toolbox is limited, faculty add.

“China has the interest to maintain ties with the junta no matter what because China wants to keep its corridor … into the Indian Ocean and use Myanmar’s territory as its commercial lane,” Denise Garcia, a U.S.-based associate professor of political science and international affairs, says of Beijing’s massive infrastructure investment strategy, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The United States intends to create a web of democracies around China, and it is more likely that democracies will align with U.S. soft power, Garcia adds. The operational principle for the U.S. is democracy, she adds, and it cares about everyone becoming one.

“China does not,” she points out.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

The relationships fans form with fictional characters can be powerful – and problematic -if taken to an extreme, Northeastern experts say. Photo by Liane Hentscher/HBO

Why are fans upset about ‘The Last of Us’ season two? Experts say it tests the limits of fandom and parasocial relationships

04.20.2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, outside the White House on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Did Donald Trump defy a Supreme Court order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

04.15.2025
Pope Francis, the first Vatican leader from a Latin American country, died at age 88 Monday. Photo by Giuseppe Ciccia /Sipa via AP Images

What is the legacy of Pope Francis — and the future of the Catholic Church

04.21.25
All Stories