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About Me

Kyaw Hsan Hlaing is a PhD student in the Department of Government at Cornell University and a 2024 recipient of the Paul & Daisy Fellowships for New Americans. Primarily, he studies comparative politics with a focus on Regime Changes, Political violence, Contentious Politics, Authoritarianism, Democratic Backsliding, and Rebel Politics.

Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, he re-entered academia as a transfer student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in January 2023, following a seven-year hiatus from his studies at the Yangon University of Distance Education—Sittwe University (Branch). In August 2024, he earned his B.A. in Asian Studies, graduating summa cum laude. Prior to his academic pursuits, Kyaw Hsan also worked as a freelance journalist and analyst, writing on armed conflict, the pro-democratic movement, and human rights violations for a range of international media outlets, including TIME Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat Magazine, and Al Jazeera.

His doctoral studies aim to explore not only the nature and traditions of revolution, violence, and post-war state-building and nation-building, but also to extend beyond these themes, with a potential regional focus on Southeast Asia. He is particularly interested in transitional governance and reform during and after the conflict in Myanmar.

Reach out at kh827@cornell.edu

University of Hawaii at Manoa •

From refugee to scholar: Mānoa student wins competitive fellowship

A student who fled political persecution in Myanmar is on the brink of earning his BA from the Asian studies department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and has won a highly competitive fellowship to pursue a PhD. Kyaw Hsan Hlaing is one of 30 students, selected from nearly 2,400 applicants in the country, recently awarded the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, which provides him $90,000 in funding for graduate school.
The Diplomat •

Is Myanmar’s Civil War Pushing the Country Toward Fragmentation?

Resistance forces now face the challenge of building an ethnically inclusive and democratic state, something that no government in Myanmar has ever achieved.

Today, Myanmar stands at a critical juncture in its history. The escalating losses of the Myanmar military due to the coordinated attacks by resistance forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) throughout the country have ignited a pivotal debate, both nationally and internationally, about the country’s future trajectory. Is Myanmar heading toward Fragmentation and Chaos?