From life in forgotten camps to the threat of starvation, the Rohingya crisis is entering a dangerous new phase. My latest article for the Royal Society for Asian Affairs blog, examining conditions in Bangladesh’s camps, the impact of aid cuts, and why policies meant to contain refugees risk deepening their vulnerability.

Pleased to share my new chapter co-written with Jose Antonio Gonzalez Zarandona in the The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict: ‘War, Genocide, and Heritage in Myanmar’. Available here.

The chapter argues that in Myanmar (also known as Burma), tangible and intangible cultural heritage have been instrumentalized as tools of genocide against the Rohingya minority, and have commonly been used as key markers of difference between conflicting actors in the long-running civil war. Myanmar has seen widespread destruction of tangible cultural heritage, government restrictions on minority cultural practices, but also the privileging of certain heritage sites through government protection and promotion practices. This entry examines patterns of cultural heritage destruction and protection, which are presented within a framework based on the key, often intersecting, goals of the principal actors: genocide, war, and state-building.

Ronan Lee and Jose Antonio Gonzalez Zarandona (2026). ‘War, Genocide, and Heritage in Myanmar’. In: Saloul, I., Baillie, B. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61493-5_100-1

Delighted to share my new article co-written with Rokon Uddin: “Preference Falsification: Making Sense of Public Opinion Surveys in Autocratising Bangladesh” based on Prothom Alo newspaper and International Republican Institute survey data. It is available OPEN ACCESS in Asian Affairs here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03068374.2025.2519632

Once Min Aung Hlaing is removed from office, he will face immediate justice.
My comment to @mariasiow for @SCMPNews 👇

Will Myanmar’s junta chief face justice for crimes against Rohingya? #whatshappeninginMyanmar
https://t.co/sZWcpMGLzQ via @scmpnews

— Dr Ronan Lee (@Ronan_Lee) December 7, 2024

A step closer to justice for the Rohingya. International Criminal Court prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar military boss Min Aung Hlaing for Crimes Against Humanity. I spoke with @Monocle_Radio’s The Globalist about this. #WhatsHappeninglnMyanmar

The Globalist: @IntlCrimCourt seeks an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, arguing he bears responsibility for the deportation and persecution of the Rohingya. @Ronan_Lee, author of ‘Myanmar's Rohingya Genocide’, tells us more.https://t.co/qe4txrU6ez

— Monocle Radio (@Monocle_Radio) November 28, 2024