Myanmar’s civil war is five decades old. Since 2011 hundreds have since been killed and more than one hundred thousand displaced in northern Kachin state, threatening the country’s entire peace and reform process. In 2012 Adapt conducted a systemic conflict assessment of this conflict as part of a fellowship from Columbia University. Based upon key informant interviews and a chronology of events methodology, the research revealed non-linear dynamics which render the Kachin conflict intractable. The authors continue to work with affected communities, who are beginning to realise their aspirations for a political process to address the war’s underlying causes.