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61. Sri Lanka: Sinhala Nationalism and the Elusive Southern Consensus

Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Sinhala nationalism, long an obstacle to the resolution of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, is again driving political developments on the island. Nationalist parties, opposed to any significant devolution of power to Tamil areas of the north and east and to negotiations with the Tamil Tigers, help set President Mahinda Rajapaksa's agenda. The government takes a hardline stance, responding in part to opposition to the flawed 2002-2006 ceasefire and peace process. Would-be peacemakers need to better understand Sinhala nationalism, which is too often dismissed as merely irrational and racist. With little likelihood of a new formal peace process soon, the longterm challenges it poses to the conflict's resolution need to be addressed.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
Political Geography:
South Asia and Sri Lanka

62. Child Recruitment in South Asian Conflicts: A comparative Analysis of Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh

Author:
Charu Lata Hogg
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The causes and trajectories of existing conflicts in Sri Lanka and Nepal demonstrate the failure of states to seriously address the underlying causes of social unrest. The idea that the state is prejudiced against a particular ethnic group, as in Sri Lanka, or against a particular class, as in Nepal, is used by non-state actors to justify the continuation of conflict in which children are inevitably targeted. The primary fault line in Bangladesh relates to the notion of Bangladeshi identity and the role of Islam, but although outbreaks of religious terrorism have taken place in Bangladesh, there has been no outbreak of full-scale conflict.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and War
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, South Asia, Asia, Sri Lanka, and Nepal

63. Contemporary Indian Views of Europe

Author:
Karine Lisbonne-de Vergeron
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
India was one of the first countries to establish a diplomatic relationship with the European Union (EU), with a visit of several European-based Indian diplomats to the then EEC in 1961. However, the first summit between India and the EU – held in Lisbon in June 2000 – marks the true start of serious bilateral relations. Until then, exchanges had been primarily defined by the accord signed in 1994, which barely took matters beyond general trade points. Lisbon saw the issuance of a Joint Declaration and the signature of the EU–India Civil Aviation Cooperation Agreement, extended until the end of 2006. This wider agenda has expanded over the past five years. Particular progress was made on mutual recognition of regulations at the Hague Summit on 8 November 2004, culminating in the approval of a plan mapping out the so-called 'strategic partnership' in the course of the summit under the British presidency, in Delhi, on 7 September 2005. This consisted of a political declaration and a joint action strategy, advocating reinforced collaboration in a number of fields, including a 'dialogue on democracy', a commitment to 'multilateralism', security issues, cultural exchanges, enhanced cooperation in education within the framework of the Erasmus Mundus programme for higher education, an 'economic policy dialogue', and the encouragement of business-to-business relations. The EU further acknowledged India's role since 2004 in addressing crisis situations in its neighbourhood, especially in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Topic:
Security and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, India, Asia, and Sri Lanka

64. Remittances in Conflict and Crises: How Remittances Sustain Livelihoods in War, Crises and Transitions to Peace

Author:
Patricia Weiss Fagen and Micah N. Bump
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Although migrant workers, refugees and immigrants have been sending money, goods and ideas home for millennia, until about a decade ago donors and international finance agencies paid little attention to the phenomenon. Interest has grown exponentially as statistics show what we now call migrant remittances to be among the most important contributing factors to national economies in several countries. Nearly all the countries in the conflict, war-to-peace transition, and crisis categories are highly dependent on remittances. The slow recovery of livelihoods and persistent violence or repression ensure high levels of migration and the need for remittances in such countries for several years after conflict and crises have ended. By all accounts, migrant remittances reduce poverty in important ways in developing countries. Research shows that migrants transfer funds and invest in their countries of origin at times when international investment has all but disappeared. By serving these purposes in countries emerging from or still experiencing conflicts (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Somalia, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and others), remittances can be seen as a sine qua non for peace and rebuilding.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, Peace Studies, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Liberia, and Somalia

65. Sri Lanka: The Failure of the Peace Process

Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
After four years of relative peace, Sri Lanka has again plunged into military conflict between the government and the separatist Tamil group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A 2002 ceasefire, negotiated with Norway's help, remains intact on paper but is flouted on the ground with increasing regularity and frequent brutality. More than 2,500 people, many of them civilians, have been killed since January. Human rights abuses and political killings are carried out with impunity by both sides. The humanitarian crisis in the north east is critical, with more than 200,000 fleeing their homes during the year. Until attitudes change on both sides, the immediate prospect is for worsening violence.
Topic:
Government, Human Welfare, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Norway, Asia, and Sri Lanka

66. Suicide terrorism and strategic decision-making in Sri Lanka

Author:
Eleanor Pavey
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Depuis les années 1990, on assiste à l'émergence du terrorisme suicidaire en tant qu'élément-clef dans la prise de décision stratégique de plusieurs organisations terroristes. Les attentats du 11 septembre et, plus récemment, les attentats-suicides en Irak ont attiré l'attention des média sur ce phénomène. Pourtant, ce terrorisme suicidaire n'est pas récent. Il n'est pas non plus le résultat d'un fanatisme religieux en général, ni d'un radicalisme islamiste en particulier. A travers le cas sri lankais, cet article tente de mettre en lumière quelques uns des facteurs qui ont été négligés dans l'analyse de ce phénomène souvent mal compris.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Sri Lanka

67. African Diaspora and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa

Author:
Abdullah A. Mohamoud
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Diasporas are one of the contemporary global forces shaping the directions and trends in this 21st century. This makes it imperative to build up knowledge and insights about the long distance activities of the diaspora in order to influence the course of the direction. There are limited studies on some of the older diasporas which however focus disproportionately on negative practices of minority militants in them which do not reflect the total picture of their overall activities. For instance, most of the available studies on the subject are largely informed by the activities of Irish, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sikhs and Kurds in the diaspora. There is hardly any documented knowledge and information about the long-distance activities undertaken by the Congolese, Rwandese and Sudanese and others in the diaspora and their impacts on the course of political events in their respective countries of origin. One explanation is the comparatively late emergence of the African diaspora communities. The phenomenon of the contemporary African diaspora is of very recent origin. It is largely the result of violent conflicts and wars that have flared up in many African countries since the early 1990s. More importantly, it is because of their recent origin -- now just a decade old -- that we know very little about the activities of the African diaspora as compared with the older and well-established diaspora. This is an area which is still waiting to be explored as the interactions of the African diaspora with their homelands in Africa have not yet been sufficiently studied.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and Sri Lanka

68. Oxfam Publishing: A place to stay, a place to live: challenges in providing shelter in India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Author:
Alex Renton and Robin Palmer
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
On 26 December 2004, an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that hit the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, the Maldives, Malaysia, Burma, the Seychelles, and Somalia.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Malaysia, India, Asia, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, and Somalia

69. Going the Distance: The U.S. Tsunami Relief Effort

Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a tsunami—a series of giant waves—that inundated coastal areas of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia, as well as Indian Ocean islands and parts of East Africa.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and East Africa

70. Transforming Conflict with an Economic Dividend: The Sri Lankan Experience

Author:
Saman Kelegama
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Peace can generate an economic dividend, which can be further increased by appropriate economic reform. This dividend can in turn be used to raise popular support for conflict resolution measures along the road to achieving a final political settlement, a strategy that characterizes the recent period in Sri Lanka. However, despite an increase in economic growth following the cessation of hostilities between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government, no substantial dividend materialized for either government supporters in the South or LTTE supporters in the war-torn Northeast. The causes of this failure include delays in disbursing aid which would have eased adjustment to economic reforms—resulting in cuts to public spending that affected Southern households—and weak institutions that impeded the effective use of aid in the Northeast. The Sri Lankan experience highlights some important lessons for both government and donors on making use of an economic lever for consolidating a peace process and conflict resolution. It also highlights some of the dangers in relying too much on economic levers to consolidate a peace process when levels of mistrust are very high.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Asia and Sri Lanka