Breaking the Saffron Wave?

Abstract

In recent years, thousands of Buddhist monastics have marched in antiregime protests across South and Southeast Asia. Among the largest and most influential nonstate organizations in the region, monastic communities appear to be powerful agents for political change. Yet, like similar movements over the last half-century, recent monastic protests did not produce broader political resistance among the monkhood, nor did they lead to substantive political change. What explains this? Why has antigovernment activism among Buddhist monks been less durable or impactful than other types of monastic activism, such as the varieties of chauvinistic nationalism that have risen to prominence in recent years? This article draws on three case studies—Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka—to offer one answer: sangha capture, the strategic use of law, bureaucracy, patronage, and coercion by governing elites to induce compliance among monastics while also muffling and marginalizing would-be critics.