The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka

The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Asoka Bandarage
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135970858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The book provides a detailed historically-based analysis of the origin, evolution and potential resolution of the civil conflict in Sri Lanka over the struggle to establish a separate state in its Northern and Eastern provinces. This conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the secessionist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is one of the world’s most intractable contemporary armed struggles. The internationally banned LTTE is considered the prototype of modern terrorism. It is known to have introduced suicide bombing to the world, and recently became the first terrorist organization ever to acquire an air force. The ‘iron law of ethnicity’ – the assumption that cultural difference inevitably leads to conflict – has been reinforced by the 9/11 attacks and conflicts like the one in Sri Lanka. However, the connections among ethnic difference, conflict, and terrorism are not automatic. This book broadens the discourse on the separatist conflict in Sri Lanka by moving beyond the familiar bipolar Sinhala versus Tamil ethnic antagonism to show how the form and content of ethnicity are shaped by historical social forces. It develops a multipolar analysis which takes into account diverse ethnic groups, intra-ethnic, social class, caste and other variables at the local, regional and international levels. Overall, this book presents a conceptual framework useful for comparative global conflict analysis and resolution, shedding light on a host of complex issues such as terrorism, civil society, diasporas, international intervention and secessionism.

The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka

The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Asoka Bandarage
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135970858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description
The book provides a detailed historically-based analysis of the origin, evolution and potential resolution of the civil conflict in Sri Lanka over the struggle to establish a separate state in its Northern and Eastern provinces. This conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the secessionist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is one of the world’s most intractable contemporary armed struggles. The internationally banned LTTE is considered the prototype of modern terrorism. It is known to have introduced suicide bombing to the world, and recently became the first terrorist organization ever to acquire an air force. The ‘iron law of ethnicity’ – the assumption that cultural difference inevitably leads to conflict – has been reinforced by the 9/11 attacks and conflicts like the one in Sri Lanka. However, the connections among ethnic difference, conflict, and terrorism are not automatic. This book broadens the discourse on the separatist conflict in Sri Lanka by moving beyond the familiar bipolar Sinhala versus Tamil ethnic antagonism to show how the form and content of ethnicity are shaped by historical social forces. It develops a multipolar analysis which takes into account diverse ethnic groups, intra-ethnic, social class, caste and other variables at the local, regional and international levels. Overall, this book presents a conceptual framework useful for comparative global conflict analysis and resolution, shedding light on a host of complex issues such as terrorism, civil society, diasporas, international intervention and secessionism.

Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka

Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Jayadeva Uyangoda
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description


Assembling Ethnicities in Neoliberal Times

Assembling Ethnicities in Neoliberal Times PDF Author: Nimanthi Perera-Rajasingham
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
ISBN: 0810140764
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Assembling Ethnicities in Neoliberal Times: Ethnographic Fictions and Sri Lanka’s War argues that the bloody war fought between the Sri Lankan state and the separatist Tamil Tigers from 1983 to 2009 should be understood as structured and animated by the forces of global capitalism. Using Aihwa Ong’s theorization of neoliberalism as a mobile technology and assemblage, this book explores how contemporary globalization has exacerbated forces of nationalism and racism. Nimanthi Perera-Rajasingham finds that ethnographic fictions have both internalized certain colonial Orientalist impulses and critically engaged with categories of objective gazing, empiricism, and temporal distancing. She demonstrates that such fictions take seriously the task of bearing witness and documenting the complex productions of ethnic identities and the devastations wrought by warfare. To this end, Assembling Ethnicities explores colonial-era travel writing by Robert Knox (1681) and Leonard Woolf (1913); contemporary works by Michael Ondaatje, Romesh Gunesekera, Shobasakthi, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, and Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan; and cultural festivals and theater, including vernacular performances of Euripides’s The Trojan Women and women workers’ theater. The book interprets contemporary fictions to unpack neoliberalism’s entanglements with nationalism and racism, engaging current issues such as human rights, the pastoral, Tamil militancy, immigrant lives, feminism and nationalism, and postwar developmentalism.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka PDF Author: Jonathan Spencer
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134949790
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
In the past decade, Sri Lanka has been engulfed by political tragedy as successive governments have failed to settle the grievances of the Tamil minority in a way acceptable to the majority Sinhala population. The new Premadasa presidency faces huge economic and political problems with large sections of the island under the control of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) and militant separatist Tamil groups operating in the north and south. This book is not a conventional political history of Sri Lanka. Instead, it attempts to shed fresh light on the historical roots of the ethnic crisis and uses a combination of historical and anthropologial evidence to challenge the widely-held belief that the conflict in Sri Lanka is simply the continuation of centuries of animosity between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. The authors show how modern ethnic identities have been made and re-made since the colonial period with the war between Tamils and the Sinhala-dominant government accompanied by rhetorical wars over archeological sites and place-name etymologies, and the political use of the national past. The book is also one of the first attempts to focus on local perceptions of the crisis and draws on a broad range of sources, from village fieldwork to newspaper controversies. Its interest extends beyond contemporary politics to history, anthropology and development studies.

The Tamil Separatist War in Sri Lanka

The Tamil Separatist War in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Channa Wickremesekera
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317293851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
The complex and long-drawn war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended with the defeat of the Tigers in 2009. This book provides a military history of the conflict in tracing its evolution from a battle between a ragtag guerrilla force and a mainly ceremonial army to one between an organized guerrilla force with semi-conventional capability and a state military apparatus that had morphed into a large and potent force with modern armour, aircraft and naval vessels. Using a wide range of sources this book offers an incisive analysis of the progress and conclusion of one of the longest and most destructive wars in modern South Asia. Comprehensive and accessible, the volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of modern South Asia, especially Sri Lanka, military history, politics, defence and strategic studies, as well as the general reader.

Sri Lanka--Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy

Sri Lanka--Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy PDF Author: Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226789527
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Focusing on the historical events of post-independence Sri Lanka, S. J. Tambiah analyzes the causes of the violent conflict between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and the minority Tamils. He demonstrates that the crisis is primarily a result of recent societal stresses—educational expansions, linguistic policy, unemployment, uneven income distribution, population movements, contemporary uses of the past as religious and national ideology, and trends toward authoritarianism—rather than age-old racial and religious differences. "In this concise, informative, lucidly written book, scrupulously documented and well indexed, [Tambiah] trains his dispassionate anthropologist's eye on the tangled roots of an urgent, present-day problem in the passionate hope that enlightenment, understanding, and a generous spirit of compromise may yet be able to prevail."—Merle Rubin, Christian Science Monitor "An incredibly rich and balanced analysis of the crisis. It is exemplary in highlighting the general complexities of ethnic crises in long-lived societies carrying a burden of historical memories."—Amita Shastri, Journal of Asian Studies "Tambiah makes an eloquent case for pluralist democracy in a country abundantly endowed with excuses to abandon such an approach to politics."—Donald L. Horowitz, New Republic "An excellent and thought-provoking book, for anyone who cares about Sri Lanka."—Paul Sieghart, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE

Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE PDF Author: K M de Silva
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 8184757115
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
In this comprehensive and authoritative study of terrorism in Sri Lanka, K.M. de Silva turns the spotlight on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its role in Sri Lanka’s upheavals over the last few decades. While tracing the emergence of this separatist group and the events that led to its recent collapse, de Silva also seeks to explore the complex relationship between the so-called moderates in Sri Lankan Tamil politics and the Tamil terrorist groups. What emerges is a layered portrait of the dynamics of Sri Lanka’s political system. Extensively researched and loaded with perceptive insights, Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE is the most wide-ranging analysis so far on the LTTE and its violent legacy.

When Counterinsurgency Wins

When Counterinsurgency Wins PDF Author: Ahmed S. Hashim
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812206487
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
For twenty-six years, civil war tore Sri Lanka apart. Despite numerous peace talks, cease-fires, and external military and diplomatic pressure, war raged on between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sinhala-dominated Sri Lankan government. Then, in 2009, the Sri Lankan military defeated the insurgents. The win was unequivocal, but the terms of victory were not. The first successful counterinsurgency campaign of the twenty-first century left the world with many questions. How did Sri Lanka ultimately win this seemingly intractable war? Will other nations facing insurgencies be able to adopt Sri Lanka's methods without encountering accusations of human rights violations? Ahmed S. Hashim—who teaches national security strategy and helped craft the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq—investigates those questions in the first book to analyze the final stage of the Sri Lankan civil war. When Counterinsurgency Wins traces the development of the counterinsurgency campaign in Sri Lanka from the early stages of the war to the later adaptations of the Sri Lankan government, leading up to the final campaign. The campaign itself is analyzed in terms of military strategy but is also given political and historical context—critical to comprehending the conditions that give rise to insurgent violence. The tactics of the Tamil Tigers have been emulated by militant groups in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Whether or not the Sri Lankan counterinsurgency campaign can or should be emulated in kind, the comprehensive, insightful coverage of When Counterinsurgency Wins holds vital lessons for strategists and students of security and defense.

Economy of the Conflict Region in Sri Lanka

Economy of the Conflict Region in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Muttukrishna Sarvananthan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description


The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka

The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka PDF Author: Gnanapala Welhengama
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135119716
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Among the examples of civil wars, armed secessionist movements and minority uprisings in the world today, many involve conflict between a minority group’s aim for political self-determination, and the nation state’s resistance to any diminution of sovereignty. With the expansion of the international regime of human rights, minority groups have reconceptualised their struggle with the understanding that a minority which is linguistically, religiously or ethnically distinctive is entitled to self-determination if their aspirations cannot be met. This book explores the relationship between minority rights, self-determination and secession within international law, by contextualising these issues in a detailed case study of the rise of Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka. Welhengama and Pillay show how Tamil communalism hardened into secession and assess whether the Sri Lankan government has met its obligations with respect to the right to self-determination short of secession. Focusing on the legal and human rights arguments for secession by the Tamil community of the North and East of Sri Lanka, the book demonstrates how the language of international law and international human rights played a major role in the development of the arguments for secession. Through a close examination of the case of the Tamil’s secessionist movement the book presents valuable insights into why modern nation states find themselves threatened by separatist claims and bids for independence based on ethnicity.