"Americans are beginning to sense that we need to understand how authoritarianism works--and more importantly how resistance works. No place offers perfectly adaptable lessons, but every place has stories to tell--including, in this fine volume, Myanmar. It is a testament to brave people, which we increasingly need to be."-- Bill McKibben, author of , Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization " Surviving the State is an eloquent and risky (in all the best ways) ethnography of struggles over land during times of authoritarianism, democracy, and beyond in Myanmar. Faxon develops a compelling frame--surviving the state--to develop a way of comprehending how Chin and Burman farmers and activists create meaning in seemingly hopeless times."-- Tyrell Haberkorn, author of , Dictatorship on Trial: Coups and the Future of Justice in Thailand.