Governance Research

Since 2010, Nyan Corridor has been conducting governance research in Myanmar in collaboration with international partners including DFID/FCDO (UK), the LIFT Fund, UNDP, and the World Bank. Over the past decade, our work has contributed to evidence-based policy discussions and practical programming across multiple sectors during periods of political transition, crisis, and conflict.

Our governance research spans several interconnected domains: local governance, humanitarian governance, media governance, and livelihood and production governance, among others. We examine how formal and informal institutions function in practice, how authority is negotiated at different levels, and how communities interact with state and non-state actors in complex and fragile environments.

Theoretically, Nyan Corridor’s governance research is grounded in institutional analysis and political economy approaches. We draw on frameworks that understand governance not only as state-centered administration, but as a dynamic system of power relations, social contracts, and accountability mechanisms involving state actors, armed organizations, civil society, media, markets, and communities. Our work also engages resilience theory and adaptive governance perspectives, particularly in contexts affected by conflict, displacement, and economic shocks.

Through mixed-methods research, field-based inquiry, and close collaboration with local researchers, we aim to generate rigorous, context-sensitive knowledge that supports inclusive governance, strengthens local capacities, and informs humanitarian and development interventions.

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