In Myanmar, the junta's state of emergency extension signals both its failure to stabilize the country as well as its intent to push forward with elections, which will likely be neither free nor fair but could nonetheless serve as a diplomatic tool to maintain international engagement amid growing territorial losses and economic disruption. On Jan. 31, Myanmar's ruling military junta, formally known as the State Administration Council, extended the country's state of emergency for another six months, marking the fifth such extension since the Feb. 2021 coup that overthrew the elected National League for Democracy, or NLD, government. The announcement, made by junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, cited the need to facilitate secure proceedings for a planned general election later in 2025, though no specific date has been announced. This comes amid ongoing threats from officially designated ''terrorist'' groups, a reference to the collective armed resistance movement led...
