Cultural diplomacy in times of crisis: the British Council's departure from Burma during the military dictatorship (1962-1966)

In 1948, when Burma became independent, the British colonial administration left the country and was replaced by a British embassy and a British Council centre, in order to establish new diplomatic relations. Cultural diplomacy appeared as a good, informal way of furthering the embassy's initia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Contemporary British history 2023-10, Vol.37 (4), p.505-524
Main Author: Simony, Lauriane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Archives & records
British council
Burma
colonial legacy
Councils
Coups d'etat
Cultural relations
Dictatorship
Diplomacy
Diplomatic & consular services
English language teaching
Foreign languages
Foreign policy
Humanities and Social Sciences
International relations
Languages
military dictatorship
Ne Win
Neutrality
Partnerships
Political crises
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Summary:In 1948, when Burma became independent, the British colonial administration left the country and was replaced by a British embassy and a British Council centre, in order to establish new diplomatic relations. Cultural diplomacy appeared as a good, informal way of furthering the embassy's initial goal of promoting peaceful and preferential diplomatic relations between Burma and Britain after the colonial era. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the British Council offered English classes to the Burmese public and encouraged the development of academic partnerships between the two countries. Yet in 1962, a military coup led by General Ne Win overthrew Prime Minister U Nu's democratically elected government and disrupted Anglo-Burmese relations. In the name of strict neutrality in foreign affairs, Ne Win's Revolutionary Council restricted all foreign cultural missions' actions in Burma, notably their ability to teach foreign languages to Burmese students, until the British Council was eventually forced to close down and transfer some of its remaining missions to the British embassy in 1967. Based on British Council archives gathered at the National Archives in London, this article examines a forced 'diplomatic departure', by focusing on the impact of the Burmese internal political crisis on Anglo-Burmese diplomatic and cultural relations.
ISSN:1361-9462
1743-7997
DOI:10.1080/13619462.2023.2237310