Unpacking the Political Economy of Myanmar’s Civil War: Border Control and Cross-Border Trade after the Myawaddy Emergency
The State Administration Council (SAC) relinquished control of the Myawaddy town in Karen State on April 11, 2024, and forgo the control of approximately 60 percent of Myanmar’s cross-border trade. Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), Border Guard Forces (BGF), and revolutionary forces now control six of Myanmar’s 17 border trade stations. Of the eleven stations remaining under SAC control, three remain inactive, devoid of any trade activity, while the remaining eight active stations contribute only 40 percent of Myanmar’s total legal cross-border land trade value.
