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Book Details
Abstract
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.
Judith Large is a senior research fellow at the Conflict Analysis Research Centre at the University of Kent. She has over twenty-five years experience in international conflict analysis, mediation and peace building, ranging from work with civic groups and national governments to UN agencies including the UNHCR, UNDP, BCPR, WHO, and others.
‘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, former Sri Lanka correspondent for the BBC and author of Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka's Hidden War
‘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.’
Sanjana Hattotuwa, Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka)
‘Offers a fascinating account of the Sri Lankan government's tense relationship with the international community. Filled with sharp insights, Push Back will help us all have a better sense of where Sri Lanka may be headed.’
Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka Project Director, International Crisis Group
‘A brilliant exposition of the end game in the Sri-Lankan civil war.’
Kevin Clements, University of Otago
‘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, University of East London
'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".'
Matthew Godwin, Journal of South Asian Development
'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
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front cover | Front cover | ||
| More praise | i | ||
| About the author | iii | ||
| Title page | v | ||
| Copyright | vi | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| 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 | ||
| Global governance: contested frameworks of understanding | 4 | ||
| Illiberal peacebuilding | 9 | ||
| Sri Lanka and global governance | 11 | ||
| Chapter outlines | 15 | ||
| Some caveats | 16 | ||
| Chapter 1. War’s end and competing models for recovery | 22 | ||
| War’s end | 23 | ||
| Winning the war and winning the peace: constitutional reform and devolution | 27 | ||
| The Singapore model | 30 | ||
| Vision of a regional hub | 31 | ||
| Reconciliation | 37 | ||
| Chapter 2. Executive presidency and the unitary state | 47 | ||
| Constitutional history: background to the executive presidency and the unitary state | 50 | ||
| Rajapaksa’s executive presidency | 55 | ||
| Unitary or unipolar state | 58 | ||
| Unipolar command development | 60 | ||
| A less than united unipolar unitary state | 62 | ||
| Executive overreach and the unitary state under fire | 66 | ||
| Chapter 3. Non-interference Sri Lankan style | 70 | ||
| Defensive posturing | 71 | ||
| Pushing back | 73 | ||
| Image management: the public relations campaign | 83 | ||
| Reflections | 91 | ||
| Chapter 4. The outsiders | 94 | ||
| Some background on international assistance and NGO development | 97 | ||
| Development assistance: a shift in emphasis | 99 | ||
| Disjuncture and degrees of confusion | 103 | ||
| Impending crisis | 107 | ||
| International aid regimes and global governance norms | 114 | ||
| Chapter 5. Majoritarianism or divide and rule | 122 | ||
| Considering majoritarianism | 124 | ||
| Majoritarianism in the near neighbourhood | 128 | ||
| Rise of the Bodu Bala Sena | 129 | ||
| Cultural domination and majoritarian hegemony | 134 | ||
| Spatial penetration and war tourism | 139 | ||
| Division within the Commonwealth | 142 | ||
| Chapter 6. Home-grown solutions and the quest for accountability | 146 | ||
| Meanings of home-grown: missed opportunities and new openings | 147 | ||
| Disappointing development | 148 | ||
| The paradox of the LLRC | 152 | ||
| Growing momentum | 156 | ||
| The Geneva Process | 158 | ||
| Normative battles | 165 | ||
| Major turning points | 168 | ||
| Chapter 7. Small state in a large system | 173 | ||
| Sri Lanka’s dance with global governance | 173 | ||
| A zero-sum trajectory | 176 | ||
| Dealing with international actors and norms and internal opposition | 178 | ||
| Mitigating circumstances | 180 | ||
| Small state, large system | 183 | ||
| Reshaping global governance norms | 188 | ||
| Queries for a new era | 192 | ||
| Notes | 198 | ||
| Bibliography | 231 | ||
| Index | 261 | ||
| Back cover | Back cover |