ASEAN's Open Wound: The Present and Future of Myanmar’s Civil War

Five years after the 2021 military coup, Myanmar and the civil war that engulfed it stand at their most volatile crossroads. In the wake of a controversial election and as Indo-Pacific powers increasingly converge on the gridlocked warring factions, SIS and the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific Studies Initiative (AIPSI) invite you to join an expert-led conversation on the strategic challenges facing the fragmented state and its implications on Southeast Asia’s strategic and political future.

The panel brings together experts from the region, including Ei Thant Sin, an independent journalist and veteran Myanmar reporter; Hla Hpone “Jack” Myint, a non-resident fellow at CSIS and Southeast Asia director at USABC; and SIS distinguished professor Amitav Acharya. A Q&A session will follow the discussion.

Panelists bios:

- Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. He is also the chair of American University’s ASEAN and Indo-Pacific Studies Initiative (AIPSI). He was a Fellow of Harvard's Asia Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a Christensen Fellow at Oxford.

His books include The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West (Basic Books 2025); Tragic Nation Burma: Why and how Democracy Failed (Penguin Random House SEA, 2023).

- Ei Thant Sin is an independent journalist with more than a decade of experience reporting on Myanmar. She hosts Asia Forward, a video podcast highlighting forward‑thinking ideas in U.S. and Southeast Asian business. She also hosts the Insight Myanmar Podcast, a platform that examines the political, legal, and humanitarian dimensions of the Myanmar crisis and reaches a global audience of over 150,000 listeners.

She works as a consultant on projects for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Previously, she served as an editor, TV anchor, producer, and social media strategist for the Voice of America (VOA) Burmese‑language channels, which have a daily audience reach of more than 18 million.

- Hla Hpone “Jack” Myint is an expert, non-resident fellow in the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He also serves as the head of Communications and Public Affairs and as director for Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Aerospace, Defense & Security, at the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Since joining USABC in March 2016, Jack has been instrumental in shaping the organization’s strategic initiatives and fostering key business and political relationships across both the United States and Southeast Asia. Before his tenure at USABC, Jack was an analyst at Inle Advisory Group, where he advised clients on Myanmar’s political landscape and U.S. sanctions. Earlier, Jack served as a fellow with the Center for Energy Policy and Management, funded by Consol Energy.

Moderator bio:

- Ambassador Piper Campbell is the Chair of the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security (FPGS) at American University and the Director of the university’s ASEAN and Indo-Pacific studies initiative. Ambassador Piper Campbell began teaching at AU in January 2020. She was Administrative Director of SIS's Foreign Policy (USFP) and Global Governance (GGPS) graduate programs before becoming inaugural chair of FPGS. This followed a distinguished, 30-year diplomatic career. Campbell also has taught national security strategy at the National Defense University’s National War College.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher SIS