Rethinking Australia’s aid programme to Myanmar: Good governance and “informal constraints”

Motivation Discussions of good governance often highlight the definitional ambiguity associated with the concept. Recent scholarship on governance is beginning to emphasize the need for more context‐specific interpretations of good governance. Specifically, the literature draws on Douglass North’s institutional framework, but without paying enough attention to the role of “informal constraints.” This article seeks to address this gap by drawing on primary data. Purpose This article explores the dilemmas or the “informal constraints” facing actors in implementing governance aid, exploring this phenomenon through the case of Australia’s aid for good governance to Myanmar during 2012–2017. The principal question is: what are the informal constraints or dilemmas confronting actors when implementing governance aid? Methods The article is based on individual semi‐structured interviews with key informants based in Myanmar and Australia alongside analysis of government reports from development organizations working in Myanmar. Findings In Myanmar, the informal constraints facing actors include the inordinate role of the military in political life, the issue of decentralization and problematic nationalist discourses within the education system. This research also argues that Australia’s approach is deeply embedded in the same neoliberal ethos that prominent multilateral institutions have also followed, with little acknowledgement of the context‐specific informal constraints that actors confront when implementing governance aid in Myanmar. Policy Implication When discussing good governance, there is a need to recognize the informal constraints in implementing governance aid. In the case of Australia’s governance aid to Myanmar, little has been done to address or acknowledge the context‐specific challenges facing Myanmar’s quest for good governance.