ICBMS - International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies

10/05/2026

Accepted ICBMS5 participants, including individual and panel presenters, roundtable participants, moderators, discussants and chairs can now register online at the ICBMS website registration page. The schedule of fees for different types of participants, as well as early and regular payment rates is also available through the link below:

https://www.burmaconference.com/?page_id=186

Please note that the final deadline for participant registration is 15 June 2026. A separate online registration portal will be open for non-participant observers in July.

31/03/2026

The announcement for accepted abstract, roundtable, and panel proposal submission to ICBMS5 will be postponed until April 18 due to the high volume of submissions received, and the extension to the original submission date. Our review committee is still at work going through all the submissions and we ask your patience before we announce the full list of accepted submissions to present at ICBMS5 in Chiang Mai in August.

27/02/2026

The online submission system will close automatically at 23:59 on Feb 28; if you plan to submit to ICBMS5 please have your registration and submission completed before that time!

https://icbms5.burmaconference.com/login/

23/02/2026

This is the last week for submissions to ICBMS5 of all varieties: individual abstracts, roundtable, or panel proposals. Please register and have your submissions complete on the online submission system before 23:59 (Thailand time) on the 28th of February!

If you haven't yet, register and submit online here: https://icbms5.burmaconference.com/login/

16/02/2026

16/02/2026

The deadline for submissions of all types: individual abstracts, panel and roundtable proposals for ICBMS5 has been extended to 28 February. The submissions system will automatically close for all submissions at 23:59 GMT +7 (Thailand time) on the 28th of February, so please be sure to have your submissions entered into the system before that time!

For those who have not yet done so, please register with the online submission system. If you are unsure of how to begin or proceed with the submission process, please follow the link: https://www.burmaconference.com/?p=156

22/01/2026

"Assemblages and Myanmar" a full volume building on the themes from the ICBMS conference of 2024 is now available in print and online.

12/01/2026

The Fifth International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies officially calls for submissions to the conference, to be held 14-16 August 2026 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Individual abstracts, panel proposals, and roundtable proposal submissions are welcome. The deadline for submissions is 15 February 2026.

A full online guide to the registration and submission process is available at the link below, please click to get started!

https://www.burmaconference.com/?p=156

16/12/2025

The Committee of the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies is pleased to announce that ICBMS 5 will be held at Chiang Mai University from 14 to 16 August 2026.

Myanmar stands at a critical juncture. The country faces protracted political stalemate, armed conflict, economic decline, and humanitarian crisis. Yet amid fragmentation and violence, communities continue to build alternative futures. Local organizations, resistance groups, and civil society actors across the country are creating new forms of governance, social movements, and civic practice that challenge dominant narratives of nation-building. At the same time, Myanmar's trajectory is shaped by shifting geopolitical forces across Asia and beyond, as regional and global powers influence its political economy, resource frontiers, and conflict landscape.

ICBMS 5 seeks to foster scholarship and dialogue that advances understanding of these dynamics. The conference will create space for examining how political imagination emerges and takes hold, how solidarity forms across ethnic, social, and cultural divisions, and how diverse communities articulate shared, common aspirations while maintaining their distinct voices. We welcome work that engages with both the constraints of the present moment and the possibilities that continue to emerge from below.

We invite scholars, researchers, activists, and practitioners working on Myanmar-related issues to join us in Chiang Mai. Guidelines for the submission of abstracts, panel proposals, and roundtable proposals will be announced in the coming days.

Conference Themes:

Geopolitics and Transnational Investment
Visions of Social Revolution
Electoral Politics and Political Consequences
Human Rights, Justice, and Equity
Health and Humanitarian Politics
Refugees, Migration, Labour, and Forced Displacement
Environmental Justice: Transboundary Pollution and Climate Change
Agrarian Transition and Food Sovereignty
Illicit Economies and the Scam Industry
Gender, Class, and Intersectionality
Arts, Media, and Popular Culture
Social Reproduction and Care
Education and Social Change
Knowledge Production in Burma/Myanmar Studies

Further updates and key dates will be announced soon!

Please stay up to date at the conference website, burmaconference.com