The Separatist Conflict In Sri Lanka: Terrorism, Ethnicity, Political Economy

by Asoka Bandarage

Using careful historical research and analysis of policy documents, this book explains the origin and evolution of the political conflict in Sri Lanka over the struggle to establish a separate state in its Northern and Eastern Provinces. The 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 book argues that the Sri Lankan conflict cannot be adequately understood from the dominant bipolar analysis that sees it as a primordial ethnic conflict between the Sinhala majority and the Tamil minority. The book broadens the discourse providing a multipolar analysis of the complex interplay of political-economic and cultural forces at the local, regional and international levels including the roles of India and the international community. Overall, the 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.

Genres: History

279 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2008

Reviews

[Laxana]

The book came across as a non partisan account of what prevailed in Sri Lanka. A must read for those who want to know about the conflict in Sri Lanka.

[Tilpop]

Really intelligent, unbiased and well-written analysis of the Sri Lankan conflict that takes into account the context and the impact of British colonialism on democratic structures in Sri Lanka. It is very dense and requires some knowledge of political theory to understand but I really enjoyed reading this. It is extremely well-researched and provides a holistic and analytical overview of the conflict. The most comprehensive and thoroughly researched text I have read on the conflict in the context of Sri Lanka's history.