Understanding the Colonial Foundations of the Sri Lankan Civil War: Implications for Peacebuilding

Abstract

The Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009) between the Sinhala-dominated state and the LTTE is often analysed in mainstream literature as a conflict rooted in discriminatory post-independence policies toward Tamils. While these accounts offer valuable insight into post-independence catalysts, they overlook the deeper structures that enabled a violent context to emerge. This study departs from such analyses by situating the trajectory of the conflict within the British colonial period (1815–1948). It examines administrative policies, constitutional reforms, and colonial ideologies that laid crucial foundations for civil war. Adopting a problematization of colonial structures as its methodological approach, the dissertation offers a critical re-narration of the war. In conclusion, it is argued that contextualizing the conflict within colonial legacies is vital for contemporary peacebuilding. Without this dimension, efforts risk reproducing the very structures that once facilitated violence, drastically limiting the prospects for peace.