Push Back: Sri Lanka's Dance with Global Governance

by Judith Large

Overview

In 2009, after decades of conflict, the Sri Lankan government proclaimed the decisive defeat of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Elam. Subsequently, the state proved resistant to attempts by the UN and other international bodies to promote post-war reconciliation or reform.

In this incisive new work, Judith Large investigates the ways in which the Rajapaksa government was able to subvert international diplomatic efforts, as well as exploring the wider context of rising Sinhalese nationalism, the attendant growth of discrimination against minorities, and efforts by both the diaspora and citizens within Sri Lanka to work towards a positive peace.

Push Back is vital reading not only for those interested in Sri Lanka, but also for those concerned about the wider implications of the conflict for human rights, peace-making, and geopolitics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783606559
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/15/2017
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Judith Large is a senior professional with over twenty-five years of experience in international conflict analysis and peacebuilding; through post-conflict recovery and as 'third party' or in support and facilitation roles for institutional and political mediation. She is Senior Research Fellow at the Conflict Analysis Research Centre and a member of the Experts Roster for the Mediation Support Unit (MSU) within the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA). Judith has served in posts at International IDEA (Stockholm) CMI (Brussels) and on assignment with the WHO, UNDP, and UN Women. She has worked extensively in the Balkans, in Nepal and Indonesia. Her South Asian experience has had a Sri Lanka focus since 2008.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Abbreviations xiii

Timeline of Sri Lankan history xv

Foreword xxi

Map of Sri Lanka xxiii

Introduction: reflections on 'optics' - Sri Lanka and dilemmas in the study of violence and global governance 1

1 War's end and competing models for recovery 22

2 Executive presidency and the unitary state 47

3 Non-interference Sri Lankan style 70

4 The outsiders 94

5 Majoritarianism or divide and rule 122

6 Home-grown, solutions and the quest for accountability 146

7 Small state in a large system 173

Notes 198

Bibliography 231

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

“A brilliant exposition of the end game in the Sri-Lankan civil war. This book is essential background reading for anyone interested in how civil wars end and the role of different actors in these processes.

Kevin Clements

“The first serious academic study of the Rajapaksa regime’s manipulation of the international system, which enabled them to preside over mass atrocities and get away scot free.

Frances Harrison

“Incisively interrogates Sri Lanka’s socio-political fabric under the Rajapaksa regime . . . the book sheds new light on how the government got away with outrageous human rights violations, even after the war. It is essential reading for understanding the politics of the period.

Sanjana Hattotuwa

“Offers a fascinating account of the Sri Lankan government’s tense relationship with the international community. Filled with sharp insights, Pushback will help us all have a better sense of where Sri Lanka may be headed.

Alan Keenan

“An exceptionally detailed and carefully crafted study. . . . The book strikes an excellent balance between accessibility of style and empirical rigour. . . . A satisfying combination of facts and rigorous analysis that will be a vital source for anyone engaging in research, development or policy work in Sri Lanka now and in the future.

Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

“Few inquiries have offered the theoretically incisive lens adopted here. . . . Combing a nimble, Foucauldian conceptualization of the rapidly changing landscape of ‘global governance’ and notions of ‘illiberal peacebuilding.’

Journal of South Asian Development

“This important new volume is essential reading for those wishing to understand the decades-long conflict in Sri Lanka, the quest for accountability, and the challenges of building peace in the wake of conflict.”

Chandra Lekha Sriram