Abstract: "Burma/Myanmar is now in its critical juncture of the transition from the military rule to the civilian governance. The country has turned to the direction of reestablishing the democratic characteristics such as the introduction of a new constitution and electoral system, the formation of the political parties, election process, and the establishment of the new bicameral parliament and a civilian government as well as regional parliaments and governments. Other new institutions such as the election commission, constitutional court and financial commission are now in place. However, there are parties domestically and internationally that largely viewed the country?s political changes as nominal. Despite that, the new government recently acknowledged that the country?s economy has been lagged behind other countries in the region and planned to take a further step to gain the economic growth by creating the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) specifically to attract the foreign direct investments (FDIs) with the unprecedented package of tax exemptions and other investment incentives in order to end the long-stagnant economic condition. In the past two decades, the country has been encountering the endless debates on what should be prioritized between democracy and development. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy movement, holds the policy that democracy and development must go hand-in-hand, but prioritizes that the restoration of the democratic institutions is a must for the right discourse of development. This policy believed that development under the weak democratic institutions with the lack of transparency, accountability and the rule of law couldn?t be sustainable. However, practicing the authoritarian governance for half a century, the military leaders believe that ?economic growth” as a form of development in their definition is a prerequisite to democratization. Inheriting the legacy of the military regime, the new government is reluctant to speed up the democratic reforms which they may feel could loosen their power centralized on the basis of the military institution. The two different policies have so far been unable to be reconciled each other. However, with the establishment of the Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ), the government has taken a step forward to liberalize the market with the intention to engage more with the regional and global markets. But it is still a partial economic liberalization, delinking the SEZs with the rest domestic economy in order to protect the weak domestic market from the adverse impacts of the stronger multinational companies. The two central issues that this paper will examine are whether the new government?s SEZ model could really take off the economy while this industrialization plan could maintain the livelihoods security and sustainable development of the local communities." Key Words: Dawei Special Economic Zone, industrialization, involuntary resettlement, human security, and sustainable development