I traveled to Myanmar together with four other graduate student researchers to conduct research for
SIPA’s Center for International Conflict Resolution.We worked with a Burmese peace research
organization to carry out a study on how investments in natural resources impact conflict. Our case
study was the Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ), which is currently being constructed in southern
Myanmar. The team spent five weeks in the southernmost region of Tanintharyi, where we undertook
extensive field research, including over 70 interviews with farmers in remote villages, government
officials, civil society actors, and private sector actors.