Myanmar has undergone significant political change since the 2007 Saffron revolution leading to a boom in international investment, but it still faces considerable economic and human rights hurdles.

Myanmar's emergence from military rule has also spawned some of the worst ethnic and religious violence in decades and fear of prolonged civil conflict, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

The elections brought democratic forces into parliament for the first time in fifty years. But Myanmar's rapid reforms still must be viewed as small steps in a country where military forces retain considerable power, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Myanmar's sudden transition from repressive pariah to potential democracy should be viewed through the lens of a military alarmed by people power revolts and by the country's increasingly shaky economic condition, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Myanmar's military junta made sure the country's first elections in twenty years will favor the regime, but the polls still offer prospects for independent, civilian voices to emerge, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

U.S. talks with the junta in Myanmar have yielded few results, yet planned elections and a looming crisis in some border regions will force the U.S. to play a larger role, and possibly gain leverage with the regime, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

CFR's Laurie Garrett says if Myanmar's regime continues to restrict access to aid workers, the carnage from the cyclone will exceed that of the tsunami.

Existing U.S. sanctions on Burma are based on various U.S. laws and Presidential Executive Orders. This report provides a brief history of U.S. policy towards Burma and the development of U.S. sanctions, a topical summary of those sanctions, and an examination of additional sanctions that have been considered, but not enacted, by Congress, or that could be imposed under existing law or executive orders. The report concludes with a discussion of options for Congress.

Ahead of the approaching Myanmar elections, this International Crisis Group briefing updates recent developments in Myanmar, examines the critical impact of ethnic conflict, and concludes that renewed fighting in areas where ceasefires currently hold should be of concern but remains on balance unlikely.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Kelley Currie of Project 2049 Institute says that Delhi should be more clever about using its own values and role as a regional leader to press for political reform in Burma.

A report coauthored by the Emergency Assistance Team (Burma) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, detailing the Burmese government's reluctance to provide aid relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

The Burmese government failed to adequately respond to a cyclone that struck the country last week, while the world chose to respond and point out the problems within the country.

An article about how the Burmese military junta earns millions on mining and selling rubies that end up in European and Asian jewelers' hands.

Amnesty International reports on the conditions of daily life in Myanmar (Burma). It says that forced labour, forced relocation, denial of citizenship and imprisonment for political offences are common.

The Center for Health and Global Environment at Harvard Medical School discusses the health, ecological, and economic dimensions of climate change in this report.

Joshua Kurlantzick says more is needed from Myanmar president U Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to foster tolerance and and reconciliation in the ethnically divided country.

As the United States and other Western countries continue to suspend sanctions against Myanmar, multinationals are lining up for the chance to invest in the one-time pariah. In this article for Bloomberg Businessweek, Joshua Kurlantzick argues that this gold rush is "wildly premature."