Myanmar (then called Burma) became independent in 1948. In 1962, General Ne Win seized power in a coup. Thereafter, until 2011, Myanmar was under the rule of the Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is called. For much of this half-century of military rule, Myanmar isolated itself from the rest of the world.

Pursuing the "Burmese Way to Socialism", Myanmar shunned both Cold War blocs, even withdrawing from the Non-Aligned Movement. The world, and in particular the West - by which I mean the United States, Canada and Europe - returned the compliment by largely ignoring Myanmar. The country descended into economic ruin and irrelevance.