Merging Nature and Nation: Transdisciplinary Ethnography of the Kachin National Movement and Chinese Natural-Resource Economy

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20072
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0104:Geography, cultural anthropology, folklore, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kiik Laur 東京大学, 東京カレッジ, 特任研究員 (00964149)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Kachin / Burma / Myanmar / China

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project showed how a transdisciplinary ethnographic approach can reveal interactions between the global environmental crisis, surging nationalism, and China’s rise. It showed such connections in the ethnic Kachin region between war-torn Burma (Myanmar), China, and India. For example, when studying the controversial Myitsone mega-dam project, this research revealed the long history of on-the-ground encounters between Kachin and Chinese sides, but also other local ethnic and religious actors. Three manuscripts have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals; Prepared three more manuscripts to be submitted.

Free Research Field

Asian Studies

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究の目的は、二つの質問に答えることでした。ブルマのカチン族の民族的な国づくりの闘いが、なぜ中国の現地の自然利用プロジェクトとこれほどまでに絡み合ってしまったのか？また自然をめぐる闘いと国家をめぐる闘いについて、どちらか一方に還元することなく、民族誌的にどのように記述するか？