Burma & post-colonial anti-colonialism

It's one of the features of being a former colonial power that not only do we tend to think we're responsible for most of the problems in the world but also that we have the responsibility and power to fix them.

The most interesting thing I've heard about Burma in the last few weeks - and granted I haven't been paying close attention - was a snippet from the peer Lord Desai. He explained how China and India are battling for influence in Burma and access to its economic resources. Rather than lose out to the pragmatic Chinese, India has put its generally liberal foreign policy on hold and worked with the Burmese regime.

We can say and do what we like, but in the face of India and China there's not really much we can do to influence Burma.