Sean Turnell’s Best Laid Plans: The Inside Story of Reform in Aung San Suu Kyi’s Myanmar

On Tuesday 3 September 2024 we had a conversation with Sean Turnell about his latest book, Best Laid Plans, a unique first-hand account of the radical reforms implemented in Myanmar under the ill-fated civilian government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. These reforms, designed both to turn around Myanmar’s dire economy and lay the economic foundations for democracy, were brought to a dramatic end following the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021. Sean Turnell was one of Suu Kyi’s key economic advisers who was imprisoned alongside her in the wake of the coup.

The event was moderated by the Lowy Institute’s Hervé Lemahieu and will include questions from the audience.
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Dr Sean Turnell is a Senior Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. He has been a Senior Economic Analyst at the Reserve Bank of Australia, a policy adviser to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and is a Professor of Economics at Macquarie University. From 2016 to 2021, he served as the senior economic adviser to Myanmar’s democratic government, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hervé Lemahieu is the Director of Research at the Lowy Institute.A copy of the book is included in the ticket price.