The Quest for Karen Unity

Abstract

If the Karen National Union wants to continue playing a useful role in Burma, it should stop trying to impose an artificial unity on Karen society.

Karen identity means different things to different people. Since before Burmese independence in 1948, elites have sought to mobilize political support around competing ideas of “Karen-ness”.

The best known nationalist projects have been those emerging in western-oriented, mostly Christian-led, S’ghaw dialect-speaking communities. For many observers and supporters, the militarized nation-building project of the Karen National Union is the only authentic expression of Karen nationalism in Burma. Indeed, international agencies have played important roles in legitimizing the KNU’s version of Karen nationalism, especially through the provision of humanitarian relief to displaced people, via organizations linked to the KNU.

However, the KNU is only one among a number of actors on the Karen political stage and represents only one strand of Karen nationalism.