Politics of Conflict and Peace in Sri Lanka

Download or read book Politics of Conflict and Peace in Sri Lanka written by P. Sahadevan and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book details the manner in which Sri Lanka has missed numerous opportunities to secure peace between its two principal ethnic communities and how the intractable ethnic conflict has placed the country in a dire state. It provides an institutionalist explanation to the conflict, examines the Sinhalese-Tamil divisions that were exacerbated due to linguistic nationalism, and evaluates the extent to which the island’s political structure encouraged ethnocentrism. It also makes clear how such ethnocentrism has contributed to illiberal democracy and political decay. Furthermore, the book analyzes how both military and political strategies have failed to end the ethnic war and provides a structural explanation for the LTTE’s resistance to accept a negotiated peace, which would require the group to step back from its stated goal of creating a separate state. India’s shifting policy vis-à-vis the conflict is also examined in the context of its contrasting responses and postures—intervention in the 1980s and non-intervention currently.