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The military continued to be perceived as crucial to ensuring social stability, which was a high priority among the Burmese people following years of colonialism and World War II. Yet the general public continued to perceive the elected government as corrupt, inept at ruling the country, and unable to restore law and order in a Burmese society characterised by ever-increasing crime rates. Public support for the army was strengthened after the army facilitated the 1960 elections and acknowledged the authority of the elected civil government Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), led by U Nu. Once the political order had been restored, the caretaker government was expected to execute general elections and restore civilian rule. In October 1958, when instability in society rose to a level approaching a national security crisis, the civilian government and Prime Minister U Nu asked the military and Ne Win to step in as a temporary caretaker government. However, the degraded economy and social disorder placed emphasis on the military. The military junta retained power for 23 years until 2011, when it was transferred to the Union Solidarity and Development Party. The elected government remained hybrid between civilian and military, until 18 September 1988, when the military again took over power as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (then renamed the State Peace and Development Council) following the nationwide 8888 Uprising and virtual breakdown of the socialist regime.
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Following the constitution of 1974, the Revolutionary Council handed over power to the elected government, consisting of a single-party, the Burma Socialist Programme Party, which had been founded by the council in 1962. In the first 12 years following the coup, the country was ruled under martial law, and saw a significant expansion in the military's role in the national economy, politics, and state bureaucracy. In the coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-government, headed by Prime Minister U Nu, with the Union Revolutionary Council, Chaired by General Ne Win. The 1962 Burmese coup d'état on 2 March 1962 marked the beginning of one-party rule and the political dominance of the army in Burma (now Myanmar) which spanned the course of 26 years. Campaign at the China–Burma border (1960–1961).