Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Bah, Abu Bakarr
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of Sociology
Abstract
The Rohingya’s statelessness is a result of their systematic exclusion from protection mechanisms and citizenship rights. The Burmese government and the majority Buddhist population have marginalized and discriminated against the Rohingya, deeply impacting identity politics among the Rohingya. Due to their lack of a national identity document in Myanmar, the Rohingya are easy targets for discrimination and violence. The fact that they are not considered full citizens has also made it hard for them to receive essential support. My thesis carefully analyzes how dominant narratives, legal instruments, and bureaucratic mechanisms systematically excluded Rohingya from citizenship rights in Myanmar as well as the nexus between citizenship rights denial and the human rights violation. To understand the social construction of citizenship, the Rohingya’s struggle for recognition, and their lived experience of statelessness, this study employs the theoretical approach of social construction. It also unmasks how dominant narratives, power relations, and legal and bureaucratic mechanisms were weaponized systematically to exclude Rohingya from Myanmar's citizenship framework. Moreover, the findings of the study delineate the Rohingya population’s lack of human rights because of their statelessness. The findings also reveal the process of constructing Rohingya as "illegal immigrants" or "foreigners" and the sense of self and belonging of the Rohingya. Understanding the challenges of constructing citizenship may help to promote and protect equality and justice for the Rohingya community, addressing the underlying factors of this severe human rights crisis.
Recommended Citation
Hossain, Md Imamul, "Statelessness and the Social Construction of Rohingya’s Citizenship Rights in Myanmar" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8117.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8117
Extent
73 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
