The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka; Terrorism, ethnicity, political economy
Bloomington, IN: Authors Choice Press, and imprint of iUniverse, Inc., 2009. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. xiv, 279, [7] pages. List of Illustrations. List of Abbreviations. Maps. Tables. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Asoka Bandarage is an Affiliated Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Her courses include Comparative Ethnic and Religious Conflict, Democracy in South Asia, Global Social Movements, Women in International Security, and Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Bandarage specializes in international development, political economy, women and gender studies, multiculturalism, conflict analysis and resolution, peace and security, South Asia, Sri Lanka, population and ecology. Asoka Bandarage began her teaching career at Brandeis University, where she taught from 1979-1985. From 1989 to 2006, Bandarage taught at Mount Holyoke College, where she received tenure. Since 2005, Bandarage has taught at Georgetown University, in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the Government Department, and the Public Policy Institute. She taught courses in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and Women in International Security. Bandarage is the author of several publications, including articles, books, and encyclopedia entries on South Asia, global political-economy, ethnicity, gender, population, ecology and other related topics. Her recent publications include Ethnic and Religious Tension in the World: A Political-Economic Perspective, and The Sri Lankan Conflict: A Multi-Polar Approach. Based on careful historical research and analysis of policy documents, this book explains the origin and evolution of the political conflict in Sri Lanka regarding the struggle to establish a separate state in its Northern and Eastern Provinces, and presents a conceptual framework useful for comparative global conflict analysis and resolution. 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. Instead, a multipolar analysis of the complex interplay of political-economic and cultural forces at the local, regional, and international levels is needed. This book argues that a host of relatively neglected variables—such as intra-ethnic, social class, and caste factors at the local level; India and South Indian nationalism at the regional level; and NGOs and civil society at the international level—all play a role in this Sri Lankan conflict. Federalist solutions seeking to create exclusive ethno-religious regions will perpetuate the conflict. The pluralism of the island and changing demographic realities—such as the decreasing numbers of the Sri Lankan Tamil population in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and their increasing numbers in the rest of the island—need to be taken into account. Greater control over economic resources and access to education and employment must be made available to local people of all ethno-religious groups and regions. Also required are the incorporation of the Sri Lankan diaspora as partners in the island’s long term socio-economic development and the strengthening of cultural pluralism and democracy. A review of Bandarage’s The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka The ethnic civil war between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities that has ravaged Sri Lanka since 1983 has attracted a considerable number of inquiries from scholars interested in exploring the complexities of ethnicity in Sri Lanka. The book directs special attention to portraying the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a brutal terrorist movement. Bandarage’s work on the separatist conflict in Sri Lanka provides alternative explanations to the key events and activities that have taken place from the British colonial period to the present. These broad scholarly approaches provide useful explanations for understanding the conflict between different groups. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Sri Lanka, Terrorism, Tamil Tigers, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE, Assassinations, Ceasefire Agreement, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Sinhala, Separatist Movement
ISBN: 9781440135705
[Book #73377]
Price: $55.00