Editor's note: Parag Khanna is a Senior Research Fellow at the
New America Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Singapore
Institute of International Affairs. His books include "The
Second World," "How to Run the World," and "Hybrid Reality."
Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) -- Call it a case for evolution instead of
revolution. While the Arab world continues in the throes of
violence and uncertainty, Myanmar is undergoing incremental
change -- and almost everyone seems to want it that way. The
government is lightening up: holding elections, freeing
political prisoners, abolishing censorship, legalizing protests,
opening to investment and tourists and welcoming back exiles.
But the people still tread lightly, careful not to overstep or
demand too much. Still, the consensus is clear: Change in
Myanmar is "irreversible." As the British Raj's jungle frontier,
Burma was a key Asian battleground resisting the Japanese
occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II. As with many
post-colonial countries, the euphoria of indepe