David Steinberg, a veteran scholar of Myanmar affairs, passed away at the age of 96 on December 5 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, according to The Washington Post.
Steinberg was a distinguished professor and director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His expertise extended beyond Myanmar to encompass the Korean Peninsula and Hong Kong, where he served as a representative for the Asia Foundation. As a former country officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines, Steinberg cultivated a profound understanding of Asian affairs.
From 1958 to 1962, Steinberg resided in Myanmar as a representative of the Asia Foundation, during which time he authored numerous books on the country. His insights into Myanmar were highly valued by the U.S. government.
Among his notable works, Steinberg co-authored Modern China-Myanmar Relations: Dilemmas of Mutual Dependence with Chinese professor Hongwei Fan. He also wrote books such as Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know, Turmoil in Burma: Contested Legitimacies in Myanmar, and Burma: The State of Myanmar.
A staunch supporter of Myanmar's democratic movement and Aung San Suu Kyi, Steinberg was an advocate of engagement over isolation, championing dialogue and diplomacy with the Myanmar government.
Widely regarded as a leading Western expert on Myanmar, Steinberg's analyses significantly influenced journalistic perspectives on the country's history of coups, internal violence, and the brutal campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. He openly acknowledged Myanmar's numerous atrocities, including destruction, murder, rape, arson, looting, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
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