The concept of citizenship is directly linked to the nature of the nation state. Whilst there is a debate about whether citizenship can exist under a military dictatorship (Heater 2004; Mitra 2011), the shift from Myanmar's military junta to a parliamentary system heavily dominated by the military does pose new questions about the concept of citizenship and about how individuals view the state, particularly with regard to rights, responsibilities, and political participation.

To date there has been no work (at least in English) on how the Burmese, whether of Bamar or minority ethnic extraction, perceive the state and how they view their relationship with the state. The authors conducted research over a period of eighteen months, before and after the elections, as a first step towards exploring changing conceptions of citizenship in Myanmar. We focused on citizenship as an individual's relationship with the state, including his or her understanding of rights, responsibilities, and political participation, and how these were perceived in light of the creation of a multi-party system and the 2010 elections. In this chapter we discuss how young Burmese articulated their relationship with the state, focusing in particular on the perceptions held by those in their early to late twenties. Given that Myanmar, like many countries in the region, has a very young population, the views of the younger generation are a crucial factor in determining how the country is likely to develop. In this chapter the authors also discuss the role (and perceived role) of education and educational institutions in building concepts of Burmese citizenship and nationalism. Despite rigorous state control of schools and universities, Myanmar's state education system has been in decline for some time; in recent years private education alternatives (for those who can afford them) have sprung up to fill the gaps.

The most interesting and, perhaps, significant aspect of this work-in-progress is that it has been possible to conduct our research in Myanmar without taking any extraordinary precautions. Before and after the elections people were happy to take part, by filling out the questionnaire or by attending the focus groups. This in itself points to changes in their conception of their relationship with the state — and of their citizenship. Only two years before the start of this research, such fieldwork would have been impossible.