The Daughter: A Political Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi

As the Rohingya crisis exploded, longtime observers of Myanmar were shocked to see Aung San Suu Kyi, champion for the causes of liberal democracy and human rights, stand by as atrocities tore through the western reaches of her country. The Daughter is a timely in-depth exploration of this icon-turned-leader and of the people, ideas, and experiences that have shaped her political identity. What emerges is not a shift in ideology but a consistent picture of the contrasts and multidimensionality that have defined her—prisoner and leader, principled resistor and pragmatic politician, the Lady and Mother Suu.

Newly translated and updated from the original German, The Daughter is essential reading for the professionals, journalists, and other observers seeking to understand Aung San Suu Kyi’s role in Myanmar. Dozens of photos complement the nuanced analysis and further illustrate the lifelong political journey of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Highlights

• Analyzes Aung San Suu Kyi’s political development both before and after she took power in Myanmar.
• Includes her response to the Rohingya crisis and discusses underlying motivations.
• Explores the public and private roles of her parents the national hero Aung San and his wife, 
  Khin Kyi.
• Takes a nonideological approach to achieve a balanced insightful understanding of Aung San Suu Kyi’s political persona.

About the Authors

Hans-Bernd Zöllner is an independent scholar on Myanmar and on the political impact of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia. 

Rodion Ebbighausen is a freelance journalist and an editor at Germany’s international broadcaster DW.

What others are saying

“While there are many biographies of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, only The Daughter has placed her life in the context of the politics of Myanmar as practiced, rather than idealized—drawn in hues that reveal the complexity of Myanmar’s society and politics, rather than a morality tale between good and evil. Much is drawn from her own words, including her public addresses in the 1990s. Zöllner and Ebbighausen know Myanmar well and are not blinded by ideologically-driven wishful thinking in the face of politics as they are lived.”
—Prof. Robert H. Taylor, author of The State in Myanmar and General Ne Win: A Political Biography

“Personalization of politics, a key trait in the political culture of Myanmar, produces cycles of change in the name of the head of state—the Aung San era, U Nu era, Ne Win era, Than Shwe era, and now the Aung San Suu Kyi era, the era of ‘the daughter.’ This book relates the history of this personalization culture and shows how this daughter is indispensable in Myanmar politics despite her stated desire to become dispensable. A truly fascinating approach to understanding Myanmar’s politics and its persons!”
—Ma Thida, author of Prisoner of Conscience: My Steps through Insein

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