From battlefield to governance: The discursive legitimation strategies of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army

This article examines how the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) uses media communication to construct legitimacy in shifting conflict contexts. Focusing on official statements, news reports, and commentaries produced during a large-scale armed campaign and the subsequent ceasefire, it analyzes how discursive legitimation strategies are reconfigured across conflict phases. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis and Van Leeuwen’s (2005) framework, the study traces how the MNDAA deploys strategies of authorization, moralization, and rationalization in context-sensitive ways. The findings show that, while the main categories of discursive legitimation remained consistent in the MNDAA’s communication, their form and emphasis shifted between wartime mobilization and governance under ceasefire. By foregrounding discourse rather than material service provision, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of rebel legitimacy as a communicative process, highlighting the importance of media strategies in sustaining authority within civil wars.