Myat The Thitsar

Research Interests

Identity politics; Digital ethnography on the group/ethnic politics; Federalism; Social Change and Social Movement

Education

Ph.D. Candidate and a Teaching Fellow, Ph.D. Global Studies Program (Sep. 2017-Present), Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
M.A. International Relations (2008), Department of Political Science, California State University, Fresno
B.A. (Honors) International Relations (2004), Department of International Relations, Yadanabon University, Mandalay

Biosketch

Myat The Thitsar is a doctoral candidate in Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Strategic Advisor at Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF), as well as the Director of Parliamentary Research and Support Program (PRSP). She was a research fellow of the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) at the University of Oxford from September 2016 to February 2017. She specializes in the research areas of sub-national parliaments and federalism, ethnic and identity politics, social media, and social change. The papers she authored and co-authored includes: Performance Analysis on State and Region Parliaments of Myanmar (2010-2015); Empowering or endangering minorities? Facebook, language, and identity in Myanmar (published by Asian Ethnicity in July 2021) and Poison If You Don’t Know How to Use It: Facebook, Democracy, and Human Rights in Myanmar (published by The International Journal of Press/Politics in May 2020).

Myat The Thitsar can also be contacted at: myatthe.thitsar@emref.org

Selected Awards and Honors

Civil Society Scholar Award (CSSA) (2021) - Open Society Foundation (OSF), NY., U.S.A.
Wooding-Marion Peace Price - Department of Politics Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell, U.S.A.
Bradford Morse Scholarship on International Relations - Department of Politics Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell, U.S.A.

Selected Publications

Thitsar, M.T. (2021). Empowering or Endangering Minorities? Facebook, language, and identity in Myanmar, single-authored in Asian Ethnicity. Taylor and Francis
Thitsar, M.T. (2020). Audit of political engagement in Myanmar (2019): A national report, funded by Arts and Humanitarian Research Council (AHRC), UK, and in collaboration with SOAS and Hansard Society, London.
Thitsar, M.T., Htar, Lue, and Kyed, H.M. (2020). Why is Customary Law So Strong? Political Recognition and Justice Practices in the Naga Self-Administrative Zone. In the book titled Everyday Justice In Myanmar: Informal Resolutions and State Evasion in a Time of Contested Transition, edited by Helene Maria Kyed, NIRAS Press (Nordic Institute of Asian Study), Denmark.
Thitsar, M.T., Thawnghmung, A., Kleinberg, M.S., Whitten-Woodring, J. (2020). Poison if You Don't Know How to Use it: Facebook, Democracy and Human Rights in Myanmar. International Journal of Press/Politics, 25 3
Thitsar, M.T., Kyed, H.M. (2018). State-making and Dispute Resolution in Karen Frontier Areas. Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, 1:2, 2018-05-01T02:00:00, Jan 2017.
Performance Analysis on States and Regions Parliament of Myanmar published by the Asia Foundation and Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation.

Selected Presentations

“Whose Friend Facebook Is? The Social Media Warfare on Facebook between Pro-Coup and Anti-Coup Groups in the Post-Military Coup Contextof Myanmar.” “Broadening Our Approach: A Workshop on Comparative Political Communication,” hosted by the DeWitt WallaceCenter for Media & Democracy at Duke University, March 27 2022.
"Empowering or Endangering Minorities? Facebook, language, and identity in Myanmar" presented at 2021 EuroSEA Conference held in Czech Republic from 7-9 Sept 2021
"Why is Customary Law So Strong? Political Recognition and Justice Practices in the Naga Self-Administrative Zone" presented at 2020 EuroSEA Conference held in Germany from 10-12 September 2020.
"Shaping federalism through identity: Resurgence of identity politics in smaller ethnic minority areas of Myanmar", presented at 2020 Annual Association of Asian Studies held in Colorado from 20-23 March 2020
"The Role of Sub-national Parliaments in the Context of Democratic Transition in Myanmar" presented at the 2019 EuroSEA Conference held in Oxford UK from 14-16 September 2019 and presented at the St. Anthony College, the University of Oxford in 2016 hosted by the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Oxford.

Selected Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits

Audit of Political Engagement (APE): documentary film

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

Charles Wallace Trust Research Fellow from October 2016 - January 2017, hosted by Department of Politics and International Relations and St Antony’s College, The University of Oxford.
Visiting Fellow, International Academy for Leadership hosted by (IAF), in September 2009 hosted by the Fried Naumann Stiftung, Germany
ASEAN Fellow, Singapore International Foundation from June 2002 - October 2002 hosted by Singapore International Foundation (SIF)

Research Currently in Progress

“Whose Friend Facebook Is? The Social Media Warfare on Facebook between Pro-Coup and Anti-Coup Groups in the Post-Military Coup Context of Myanmar.”
"Are we safe enough? Myanmar's digital coup and finding a safe messaging platform."
"Enmity or Empathy? The narrative change of ethnic supremacism on Facebook in the post-coup ethnic politics of Myanmar"