Sentence:  I give a short lecture on why it is possible for similar amoral areas to exist along Burma's fringes: about the way that Burma has never really been a "country," but has been more a series of <WSD>suzerainties</WSD> whose composition has changed enormously in the past 1,500 years. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A relation between states in which a subservient nation has its own government, but is unable to take international action independent of the superior state; a similar relationship between other entities.