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Podcast: Insight Myanmar
Episode: The Great Escape
Description: Episode #238: Helene Maria Kyed, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. sheds light on the phenomenon of military defections since the 2021 coup. Historically, defections were rare and there wasn't even a Burmese term for it. Prior to the coup, soldiers might desert, but not defect, driven by dissatisfaction rather than a desire to join the ethnic resistance or other oppositional forces.The coup has changed this landscape dramatically. Defections have surged, driven by a combination of factors including ideological disillusionment with the military's actions, economic hardships, and the promise of a different future. These...