"2015 Myanmar/Burma Update: how national elections and the peace process in Myanmar may clash in the coming year. International observers should manage their expectations about elections and peace in Myanmar, says leading expert Professor Mary Callahan. Speaking at the 2015 Myanmar/Burma Update at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Callahan argued that the coming year will see two key ?macro processes? in the country. On one hand will be the first national elections in the country in 25 years. And on the other hand the peace process ? and the hope for a National Ceasefire Agreement. She suggests that the combination of elections and the peace process ? in the context of so much other flux ? is the making of a ?perfect storm?. The two processes may be mutually harmful and disappointing, and yet they may also have some unexpected positive consequences. This caution about a ?perfect storm? comes from the fact national elections and the peace process may be in tension. On one hand, elections are by nature ?about contestation and polarisation. Winners take all and the losers go home,? said Callahan. So political parties will likely inflame tensions as they attempt to garner support and undermine the positions of opponents. On the other hand, a peace process by nature is about ?building bridges, expanding inclusion, moving away from zero sum politics and trying to develop respect for alternative visions and aspirations,? she said. In this sense, the process of the peace negotiations is very different to that of elections..."