The lack of a coherent international strategy in addressing Burma’s ongoing economic and political crises is serving to exacerbate problems and demands a reevaluation of the international agenda, according to a report soon to be launched by the Washington D.C.-based Asia Society.

Acknowledging that the impetus for reform must come from elements within Burmese society, findings of an Asia Society Task Force still argue for an external role.

“In some ways, the situation has been exacerbated by conflicting signals and uncoordinated policy responses from regional and international players. We initiated this effort to highlight areas where greater international coordination is possible and bring differences into sharper relief,” voiced Asia President Vishakha Desai.

Supporting the Obama administration’s altered foreign policy vis-à-vis Naypyitaw, Task Force Co-Chair Wesley Clark elaborated, “Burma is at the center of a torrent of powerful economic forces, and at the same time its political system is frozen.”

However, continued the Retired General, “if the U.S. sets the bar too high at the outset, it will deny itself an effective role in helping to move Burma away from authoritarian rule and into the world community.”

In analyzing the present Burmese context, special consideration was given to the declining observance of human rights since August 2007, the increasing strategic importance of Burma for regional powers, instability along Burma’s borders, the evolving relationship between Naypyitaw and Pyongyang, and possible changes in Burmese governance with the passing of the 2010 elections.

As such, the Task Force finds a need for the United States to focus its Burma policy on the changes taking place in the country, recommending Washington pursue “effective channels of communication, focused assistance programs, reform-oriented economic activity, coordination with Burma’s neighbors and the international community, and, if and when necessary, the tightening of targeted financial sanctions.”

“Decades of pursuing policies of isolation and sanctions by the West, and the U.S. in particular, have done little to influence change in Burma/Myanmar, and Asia’s ‘soft’ approach has yielded similarly limited results,” added project director Suzanne DiMaggio. “What is needed is a new diplomatic approach that is better articulated and harmonized at the national, regional, and international levels.”

The report, entitled ‘Current Realities and Future Directions in Burma/Myanmar’ and offering policy advice for international actors, is to be launched Wednesday at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.