Research

Introduction

The concepts of federalism and decentralization became popular in mainstream politics after the Second World War when more countries in the colonial world became independent and adopted federalism as a political regime. The Panglong Agreement, signed in 1947, inaugurated the federal concept of state-building in Myanmar (then Burma). The ideology of federalism in Myanmar is also rooted in the nation-building of various stakeholders before the country’s independence. There are both advantages and disadvantages to adopting federalism in Myanmar. This article will discuss the confederate model as a potential solution for implementing federalism properly and functionally without jeopardizing its core principles and values. The article is divided into three main sections: theoretical background of federalism, motivations and challenges of federalism in Myanmar, and implementation of the confederate model in Myanmar.