Competing Stories

Abstract

The recent discussions on the 2021 Myanmar’s coup have overshadowed the ‘old’ issues, and the Rohingya crisis in particular. In this article, we draw the interest back to one of the most challenging crises of all. We discuss how the main actors shape the image of the Rohingya crisis narratively. How is the conflict narrated? Do competing narratives share anything in common? We argue that all actors produce different and to some extent mutually exclusive images of the conflict. We also find that there are no divergences within the actors’ narratives of the conflict, which suggests that they are more engaged in advocating their political aims than finding a bridging point for further negotiations on the conflict. Our argument is substantiated by an analysis of the narratives articulated by five actors: the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Myanmar government, Bangladesh, and the Rohingya themselves.