A Broadening Resistance Coalition Challenges Myanmar’s Junta

The Myanmar military’s 2021 coup prompted the emergence of the Spring Revolution protest movement, which spurred widespread inter-ethnic solidarity and gave rise to armed resistance groups called People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). Four years on, these dynamics have greatly changed Myanmar’s conflict landscape. As the movement created a broad coalition comprising PDFs and four established ethnic resistance organizations that seeks to establish a federal democracy, it also fostered more informal cooperation with other ethnic resistance forces. This open cooperation strategy has overwhelmed the army, and diverse resistance forces now control much of Myanmar. But a lack of political agreements or a clear vision for a future state among the resistance raises questions about the emerging political order.