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Weapons of the Weak in a Border Zone: How Myanmar’s Exiled Youth in Mae Sot Forge Political Space and Challenge the Junta Through Everyday Resistance

Tin Maung Htwe
Chiang Mai University
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3002-169X
This study explores how exile Myanmar youth in Mae Sot actively create and utilize political space to resist the military junta’s control following the February 2021 coup. It argues that their collective actions effectively challenge and undermine the junta’s authority. The research examines how they contest established hierarchies through political, social, and cultural engagement amid precarious conditions on the Thai-Myanmar border. Drawing on Scott’s theory of "Everyday Forms of Resistance," the study shows that daily acts of resistance collectively weaken the junta’s control despite constraints from Thai state policies and internal community hierarchies. These youth confront oppression and propose alternatives to dominant development models in education and livelihoods, using these sectors as informal political arenas. The research highlights youth-led initiatives marked by self-organization and decentralized resistance, including fundraising for People’s Defense Forces, information campaigns, humanitarian aid, alternative education, Civil Disobedience Movement coordination, art, music, literature, and performance.
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