This article explains the ways in which power and factional struggles broke out and ended in post-independence Burma. In so doing, it argues that the key to a proper understanding of the situation resides in a careful examination of the internal power structure of an existing government. On the basis of the historical analysis as explicated in the article, it may be surmised that the existence of a hegemon that is able to mediate between factions while not relying on them in turn for his own influence and authority, yields a good possibility of a stable government. Conversely, the absence of such a hegemon results in an unstable government. Stability, however, being simply a condition, does not naturally predispose a hegemon towards virtuous governance.