Can Encounters With the State Improve Minority-State Relations? Evidence From Myanmar

Abstract

What explains ethnic minorities’ attachment to the state? Our current understanding has primarily considered structural factors, particularly access to political power and modernization. Diverging from existing explanations, I theorize that mundane experiences with the state, in street-level bureaucracy, can inform ethnic minorities’ attitudes toward the state. What they see and experience in street-level bureaucracy signals to ethnic minorities what their prospects might be in a country that is politically dominated by another ethnic group. Leveraging extensive fieldwork in Myanmar, I show that ethnic minorities who have had positive encounters with street-level bureaucrats express stronger attachment to the state. This is the case even when an ethnic group is in direct conflict with the state. I also find that service experiences are more relevant in explaining ethnic minorities’ attachment to the state compared to factors highlighted in existing research.