Spoil of War: How Conflict Shapes Myanmar's Gold Supply Chain

About this Event

Gold plays a prominent role in Myanmar's cultural and economic life, from providing a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of subsistence miners to generating wealth for business elites and armed actors. Gold has also served as a safe store of value during periods of economic uncertainty, a function that has become even more significant in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup that has led to an economic crisis. As the armed conflict has intensified, the mining and transportation of gold, both legal and illicit, have become enmeshed in it. Many of the country's gold fields are now under the control of opposition armed groups, while state licensing and enforcement capacity, which was already weak, has disintegrated. This fragmentation of authority has allowed actors on o…

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