Paper short abstract:

Theories of risk posit logics by which we may understand how societies evaluate and attempt to overcome the discomforting conditions of uncertainty. Logics informing Burmese Buddhist nationalisms draw attention to relationality and necessitate articulation with anthropologies of ethics and affect.

Paper long abstract:

This paper argues that in the context of uncertainty, risk management is a moral undertaking with consequences for individuals, communities, and institutions. It posits that uncertainty is not merely a case of missing information, but rather, an affective state defined by both fears and hopes about unknown future outcomes. As such, managing the risks associated with moments of uncertainty is not merely an epistemological matter but also an affirmation or assertion of values. Risk management technologies thereby serve as sites of meaning-making in which personal, social, and societal values, are prioritised in ways that bring into view select relations within broader assemblages.

The paper thus attempts to produce a relational theory of risk by examining women's participation in nationalist movements in Myanmar and beyond. It presents three key arguments: I) That which is deemed 'at-risk' is collectively valued, which means both action and inaction have moral consequences at the individual, social, and institutional level; II) The degree of significance assigned to certain threats is a reflection of shared values and social anxieties - it is not based on the statistical likelihood of actual harm, nor is it merely an expression of collective, but ultimately relative fears; III) 'Relational Risk', as a framework, enables more nuanced analysis in moments of acute uncertainty and social change. It highlights the significance of affect and emotion in the moral rationalities that underline risk mitigation technologies and argues for a multivalent ethics of cultivating certainty.