The politics of decoupling and the remaking of Arakan nationalism in Myanmar

Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar is often portrayed as monolithic, yet fractures persist within its core constituencies. This article examines why Rakhine nationalists, once aligned with the state's exclusionary Buddhist nationalism during the 2012 anti-Muslim violence, have become leading actors in armed resistance against Bamar-centric dominance. Drawing on multi-phase fieldwork and follow-up interviews since 2019, it argues that Rakhine elites pursue a ‘politics of decoupling’, detaching symbolic capital from the Bamar Buddhist hierarchy and re-anchoring it in a distinct, civic ‘Arakha’. We identify two mechanisms: authorisation via distinction justifies a claim to rule, while state mimicry via officialisation gives that claim institutional form. Together, they underpin the Arakan movement's administrative dominance by early 2026. This study demonstrates how competing claims to Buddhist legitimacy fracture shared religious frameworks, thereby contributing to debates on rebel governance and state fragility beyond interfaith paradigms.