Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka: Caught in the Peace Trap? (Routledge Contemporary South Asia)

This book brings together a unique range of perspectives on the Sri Lankan peace process from 2001-2006, a period that has seen the rise and fall of an attempt to bring a protracted violent conflict to a peaceful resolution. A ceasefire agreement, signed in February 2002, was followed by six rounds of peace talks. But growing political violence, disagreements over core issues and a fragmentation of the constituencies of the key parties led to the break down of the peace process; there has now been a shift from the 'no-war, no-peace' hiatus of the peace negotiations towards a major escalation of fighting. The contributions are based upon extensive field research and written by leading Sri Lankan and international researchers and practitioners. Applying a political economy framework and by the concept of 'liberal peacebuilding', the structures and dynamics of conflict and the interaction and role of international actors are analysed. The lessons drawn from the Sri Lankan case have important implications in the context of wider debates on the 'liberal peace' and post conflict peacebuilding - particularly as these debates have largely been shaped by the 'high profile' cases such as Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Therefore this book will be of interest not only to Sri Lanka specialists but also to the wider academic and policy/practitioner audience.Goodhand, Jonathan is the author of 'Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka: Caught in the Peace Trap? (Routledge Contemporary South Asia)', published 2010 under ISBN 9780415466042 and ISBN 0415466040.