Call for Papers - 2026 Myanmar Update: Contours of a New Myanmar
The next Myanmar Update conference, 'Contours of a New Myanmar', will be held on Friday, 24 July and Saturday, 25 July 2026 at the Australian National University in Canberra.
The conference is convened by the ANU Myanmar Research Centre in the College of Asia and the Pacific, and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales Canberra.
Conference aims
The conference will explore the social, political, economic, technological, and international changes wrought by the 2021 military coup in Myanmar and the subsequent countrywide resistance to military rule, and consider how these changes are likely to shape a post-conflict Myanmar.
This is an opportunity to explicate and celebrate the revolutionary changes brought about by the Myanmar people’s resistance to military rule, while also reckoning with more problematic aspects of the five-year long civil war.
Ultimately, the aim is to encourage conversations about the new opportunities and complex challenges facing the people of Myanmar – across communities, generations, and genders – as they navigate the path toward a more just, inclusive, and hopeful future.
Paper proposals
The Myanmar Update conference convenors invite paper proposals from interested academics, analysts, researchers, and professionals that address the conference theme in any of the following topic areas: Armed conflict; Democracy and human rights; Gender-based violence; Federalism; Local governance; Economic development; Humanitarian crisis; and international relations. The convenors will group papers into sessions addressing similar issues.
New voices
As in previous Updates, the convenors are keen to receive proposals from new voices, both from within academia and outside it. We are particularly interested in voices from Myanmar.
To facilitate participation by any Myanmar nationals who are unable to secure the necessary documents to travel to Australia, we may organise a parallel event in Thailand before or after the main conference. Further details on this will be provided after the selection of papers.
Travel funding
Funding to offset travel costs can be offered to
1. Myanmar nationals travelling internationally
2. HDR candidates and early career researchers of any nationality based in Australia.
If you fall into one of these two categories, when making a submission, please indicate if you require financial support to attend and include details of: (a) where you will be travelling from (city/country); (b) what passport you hold; and (c) any other sources of funding available to you.
HDR Workshop
A workshop for HDR students and early career researchers will be organised in Canberra the day before the conference. Details about the application process for this will be announced closer to the conference. Relevant participants whose expenses are offset by the conference organisers will be expected to participate in this workshop.
Proposal deadline and steps
To submit a proposal, please fill in your details on the online submission form.
This should be submitted no later than Monday, 1 December 2025.
If you have any problems using this link, you can also send your paper title, abstract, and CV to: myanmar.research@anu.edu.au. Please use '2026 Update' as the first words of the subject line.
The abstract should be 150-300 words and show how the paper will address the overall theme of the conference. Please also provide a one-page (only) CV. Only strong proposals whose contents are consistent with the conference themes will be considered. Successful applicants will be notified by mid-January 2026.
Participants will be required to submit a first full draft of their paper of between 4000 and 6000 words by mid-June 2026.
Selected papers will be included in the Myanmar Update series edited book, published by ISEAS Press. (Previous titles in the series are available here).
For further information, please contact Morten Pedersen on myanmar.research@anu.edu.au.
Myanmar Update 2026 Convenors
- Prof Bina D’Costa – Board Member, Myanmar Research Centre, ANU; CEVAW Chief Investigator and ANU Node lead on migration and trafficking. bina.dcosta@anu.edu.au
- Dr Morten Pedersen – Policy director, Myanmar Research Centre, ANU; Senior Lecturer in International Politics, UNSW Canberra. Morten.Pedersen@unsw.edu.au
Sponsors
The 2026 ANU Myanmar Update is supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific; and The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW).