Divergent Perceptions of Peace in Post-Conflict Societies: Insights from Sri Lanka

Poverty, Ethnicity and Conflict in Sri Lanka

This paper investigates the nexus among poverty, ethnicity and conflict in Sri Lanka. The ethnicised conflict in Sri Lanka is embedded in and is an expression of existing social, political, economic and cultural structures. The civil war is thus not a temporary crisis, but a long-enduring feature. Rural societies in the war -affected areas are characterised by ‘distressed livelihoods’ or ‘livel...

Beyond the Time and Space of Peace Talks: Re-appropriating the Peace Process in Sri Lanka

A peace process almost always acts as the catalyst to transition from conflict. In reality, the peace process is usually dominated by peace negotiations between the main contending parties who are able to direct the content and progress of the movement towards peace. However, as conflicts rarely reduce into bilateral disputes, the elite nature of peace talks can exclude or ignore broader, cross...

An Examination of Peace and Conflict in Diverse Societies

The Root Causes of the Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has many root causes and consequences that are closely interlinked. However, given its complexities, it should not be assumed that these causes are part of linear historical processes where one event led to another. Often many of the issues that may be regarded as root causes arose within a single but extended context and equally as often, simultaneously. It is ...

Development as a Precursor to Conflict Resolution: A Critical Review of the Fifth Peace Process in Sri Lanka

There is a growing interest in the links between development and peace in low and middle-income countries and especially between international development assistance and conflict resolution. This article analyses these links in the case of Sri Lanka's fifth peace process (2002-2004), by examining the unconventional approach of choosing development of the war-torn areas as a forerunner of confli...