4 - Utilizing Intentional 'Crack of Sovereignty': Economic Migrants and Political Refugees from Myanmar in a Border Town

This article argues that political refugees from Myanmar, who live in a border town of a neighboring country, utilize ‘crack of sovereignty,’ which a state ‘intentionally’ creates for their own sake. Town A is a border town with Myanmar, which is located in one of the neighboring countries. The majority of residents in Town A came from Myanmar, and stay in Town A legally and illegally. In this town, illegal immigrants are tacitly condoned to stay because they are usable as labor force. They are paid less than the legal minimum wage, and the labor law does not apply, but they can rent apartments without ID cards or passports. Many services for illegal immigrants are also available through the black market. Such a weird social order is maintained through the ‘art of not (intentionally) govern’ which refers to the fact that laws are not applied and, then, migrants are governed through institutionalized corruption, which is taken for granted by migrants from Myanmar as well as citizens of the country who dwell in Town A. After the coup broke out in Myanmar in 2021, many political refugees flew to Town A illegally crossing the border. These refugees stayed in the country by using the social order which is maintained by the intentional cracks of sovereignty.