Push Back

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.

• Introduction: reflections on ‘optics’ – Sri Lanka and dilemmas in the study of violence and global governance
• 1 War’s end and competing models for recovery
• 2 Executive presidency and the unitary state
• 3 Non-interference Sri Lankan style
• 4 The outsiders
• 5 Majoritarianism or divide and rule
• 6 Home-grown solutions and the quest for accountability
• 7 Small state in a large system