Riding with the Devils: China’s Role in the Cambodian and Sri Lankan Conflicts

Cambodia and Sri Lanka are two tiny states where China has no major strategic stakes. Yet China has been a key regime ally to both regimes at a critical moment during the alleged genocides of 1975–1979 in Cambodia and of 2009 in Sri Lanka. While the failure of Western interventionist peace-building models has been widely discussed, the patterns and outcomes of Chinese non-intervention have not. How did China’s scrupulous respect for non-intervention affect the alleged genocides? The article supports the viewpoint that Chinese non-interference in both states was built on the notion that the building of an independent nation was a top priority in securing sovereignty, order and unity. Hence, China focused on bilateral military aid and economic development, whilst shielding both governments from external scrutiny and international accountability during and after the alleged genocides. China has since made efforts to address and resolve national conflicts through concerted United Nations (UN) procedures and mechanisms.

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Sri Lanka: Physical Reconstruction and Economic Development as Conflict Prevention Factors

Croatian International Relations Review ◽

10.2478/cirr-2014-0003 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (69) ◽

pp. 55-76

Author(s):

Boženko Đevoić

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

External Pressure ◽

Power Sharing ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Conflict Prevention ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Postconflict Reconstruction ◽

Post Conflict ◽

The Government

ABSTRACT This article gives an overview of the 26 year long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and examines physical reconstruction and economic development as measures of conflict prevention and postconflict reconstruction. During the years of conflict, the Sri Lankan government performed some conflict prevention measures, but most of them caused counter effects, such as the attempt to provide “demilitarization”, which actually increased militarization on both sides, and “political power sharing” that was never honestly executed. Efforts in post-conflict physical reconstruction and economic development, especially after 2009, demonstrate their positive capacity as well as their conflict sensitivity. Although the Sri Lankan government initially had to be forced by international donors to include conflict sensitivity in its projects, more recently this has changed. The government now practices more conflict sensitivity in its planning and execution of physical reconstruction and economic development projects without external pressure.

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Sri Lanka and China’s Maritime Silk Road: A Convergence of Interests

East Asian Policy ◽

10.1142/s1793930515000331 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 07 (03) ◽

pp. 114-123

Author(s):

Peng Er LAM

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Silk Road ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Maritime Silk Road ◽

One Belt One Road

China had invested heavily in many mega infrastructural projects in Sri Lanka even before President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy. In January 2015, the pro-China President Mahinda Rajapaksa unexpectedly lost his reelection bid. Western and Indian press generally believe that the new Sri Lankan president will reconsider projects with China agreed to by Rajapaksa. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka needs China for its economic development and China needs Sri Lanka for its Maritime Silk Road.

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Role of Military From Counter Insurgency to Peace Building: Paradigm Shift in the Sri Lankan Nation-Stateʼs Security

European Scientific Journal ESJ ◽

10.19044/esj.2021.v17n2p99 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

Author(s):

D.G. Rajitha Nilaksha Rukshan

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

National Security ◽

Security Policy ◽

Qualitative Methodology ◽

Peace Building ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Post Conflict ◽

The Government ◽

The Military

Historically, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) used to be considered as one of the more stable and secure countries in the South Asian region. In the years after independence it gradually dawned on the government that maintaining national security was a crucial and most challenging contemporary issue faced by the country. At the global level, the role of the Military was understood as being vital for ensuring the safety, security and dignity of the nation-state. And, when national security is threatened on any ground, the military is expected to play a key role in safeguarding it. However, after the military victory was won by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka in 2009 it was expected that a deep sense of peace and tranquility would be restored in the country. Contrary to this expectation, Sri Lankan national security was breached very badly, leadimg to an unstable situation as a result of a series of bomb blasts set off by certain extremist elements on the 21st of April 2019. In this backdrop, it would be a timely exercise to explore and analyze the Sri Lankan nation stateʼs security, peace building initiatives, and the role of the military. Taking this a step further, this study sought to analyze the role played by the military in the post-conflict peace building process as well. The study used qualitative methodology to conduct the investigation. Secondary data sources including books, articles and official reports were utilized to collect information for this study. This research found that in Sri Lanka the military was actively engaged in maintaining national security by using its soft and hard power as appropriate. This Study also found that lack of a coherent National Security Policy in Sri Lanka has been a key problem that needs to be addressed and corrected soon to ensure the safety and security of the country.

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PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT APPROACH IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE – ITS RELEVANCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

Federal Governance ◽

10.24908/fg.v8i3.4385 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Sisira Saddhamangala Withanachchi

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Local Governance ◽

Participatory Development ◽

Business Community ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Grass Roots ◽

Development Approach ◽

Theoretical Component

This research paper seeks to examine to what extent local governance iseffective in alleviating the vicious circle of poverty. Furthermore, traditional social relationships in Sri Lankan society are relatively and critically discussed in the notion of social capital. In Sri Lanka, local government institutions, administrative divisional secretaries, the Gramaseva division, civil society and the business community are the entities of local governance at the grass roots governance level that directly involve participation of the general public. The article studies the effect of Local Governance on poverty alleviation and observes people’s direct involvement in relation to their socio – economic development in the local governance political body. The Kasiwattapura at Polhena Gramaseva Division in the Matara Municipal Council is selected to study this theoretical component.

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Actants and Fault Lines: Janakaraliya and Theatre for Peace Building in Sri Lanka

Theatre Research International ◽

10.1017/s0307883320000577 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 39-52

Author(s):

NELOUFER DE MEL

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Political Violence ◽

Ethnic Relations ◽

Peace Building ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Donor Funding ◽

The Arts ◽

The People ◽

Theatre Company ◽

Post War

This article provides a contextual analysis of Janakaraliya (‘Theatre of the People’), a theatre company acclaimed for its excellence in theatre for social justice and peace building in Sri Lanka. It discusses the governing conditions that enable its practice and evaluates its impact, whether this be the biopower of the state and non-state actors during periods of political violence, donor funding frameworks, or the Janakaraliya archive itself as an actant shaped by donor rationalities. Drawing on a recent research project entitled The Theatre of Reconciliation, the article builds an argument for changing the terms on which the arts in peace building are evaluated, and for a shift in the dominant narrative on Janakaraliya which collapses its sophisticated aesthetics to a binary of Sinhala–Tamil ethnic relations. The logic of this revision would be fuller acknowledgement of the troupe's aesthetic forms and styles as a more robust signifier of the pluralities that constitute Sri Lankan society today and therefore of post-war reconciliation itself.

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Sino–Sri Lankan relations and their impact on India

Asian Journal of Comparative Politics ◽

10.1177/2057891121997566 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 205789112199756

Author(s):

Ishan Jain

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

South Asian ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Belt And Road Initiative ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Belt And Road ◽

Silk Route ◽

The Belt And Road ◽

South Asian Region

This article aims to understand the development of the Sino–Sri Lankan relationship from ancient to contemporary times and its overall impact on the Indo–Sri Lankan relationship and on India as a leader in the South Asian region. China has been investing heavily in Sri Lanka and several other South Asian countries in the name of economic development and upliftment. It has formed diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka and has provided immense economic, military and other forms of assistance and has reduced India’s involvement. The building of the Maritime Silk Route and the Belt and Road Initiative have been dream projects for China, and so the article analyses the assistance provided in terms of strategy that the Chinese may be planning. Based on the facts and evidence provided, the article will end on a scenario that could most likely take place based on the trajectory of the events and relationships.

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The Economics of Peacebuilding: International Organizations for Dealing with Victor and Vanquished

The State of Peacebuilding in Africa ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-46636-7_3 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 33-46

Author(s):

Vera Songwe

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Economic Development ◽

United Nations ◽

Special Reference ◽

League Of Nations ◽

Conventional Wisdom ◽

Peace Building ◽

Economic Dimension ◽

Internal Conflicts ◽

Economic Imbalances

Abstract This chapter draws on the sharply contrasting experiences of both the League of Nations and the United Nations in the twentieth century in order to highlight the importance of the economic dimension to peace building. In doing so, this chapter questions the conventional wisdom and practice that only after peace is fully restored in a conflict environment can the focus shift to economic development. With special reference to the cases of Guinea Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan, it suggests that the insistent, quasi-dogmatic priority given to sequencing actions in this way has served to undermine many peace-building processes before they even begin. At the heart of most of Africa’s largely internal conflicts are the economic imbalances and weaknesses evident in all states on the continent. Just as peace was built in war-shattered Europe through a massive reconstruction plan, the chapter argues that peace-building solutions in Africa must give much greater weight to the economic dimension.

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The Role of Music and Allied Arts in Public Writings on Cultural Diversity: “People of Sri Lanka”

ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL ◽

10.30819/aemr.6-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 93-100

Author(s):

Gisa Jähnichen

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Cultural Diversity ◽

South Asia ◽

Case Studies ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Culturally Different ◽

The World ◽

Official Languages ◽

The Way

The Sri Lankan Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue, and Official Languages published the work “People of Sri Lanka” in 2017. In this comprehensive publication, 21 invited Sri Lankan scholars introduced 19 different people’s groups to public readers in English, mainly targeted at a growing number of foreign visitors in need of understanding the cultural diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. This paper will observe the presentation of these different groups of people, the role music and allied arts play in this context. Considering the non-scholarly design of the publication, a discussion of the role of music and allied arts has to be supplemented through additional analyses based on sources mentioned by the 21 participating scholars and their fragmented application of available knowledge. In result, this paper might help improve the way facts about groups of people, the way of grouping people, and the way of presenting these groupings are displayed to the world beyond South Asia. This fieldwork and literature guided investigation should also lead to suggestions for ethical principles in teaching and presenting of culturally different music practices within Sri Lanka, thus adding an example for other case studies.

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