Conclusion

The final chapter consolidates the research presented in the previous chapters of this book. The summary includes the detailed account of the Adopt-a-Pagoda Program and its spatial impact on Bagan, contrasted and contextualized with the site’s overall conservation history; concise insights to the strategic appropriation of Bagan as a sacred and historic space; and critical reflections on how the illegitimate regime left various traces at the site that are testimony to their ruthless governing style. The conclusion also once again points to the populist rhetoric of the authoritarian conservation efforts, offers a critique on the transferal of this rhetoric to the World Heritage system and addresses ethical questions about responsibilities within this system, especially when dealing with spaces deemed as sacred. The conclusion also offers a summary of the heritage politics of transition its implications concerning the reconciliation process of the NLD and an outlook with view to Myanmar’s current political situation.