Divides and dialogue in the diaspora during Sri Lanka’s civil war

ABSTRACT

In the armed conflict in Sri Lanka (1983–2009), the diaspora was actively involved, most importantly through its financial and political support to the Tamil separatists. This article explores the dynamics within the diaspora itself, looking at how conflict divides were maintained and reshaped outside Sri Lanka, but also at the possibilities for dialogue. It studies both Sinhalese and Tamils in the diaspora and enquires into their experiences of interaction with the ethnic other. Based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out during the latter phase of the war, it maps meeting spaces in the host countries and discusses how divides were entrenched or bridged in these spaces. The reversed majority–minority relations between the two groups are discussed, as are the perceptions that dialogue attempts can be a way of co-optation and an activity in which divides are confirmed rather than overcome.

KEYWORDS:

• Diaspora politics
• long-distance nationalism
• dialogue
• conflict
• ethnic divides
• Sri Lanka

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Camilla Orjuela is Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research has focused on civil society and peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation, diaspora politics, identity formation as well as corruption. She has carried out research over a long time in and on Sri Lanka, and more recently also focused on the case of Rwanda. She is the author of The Identity Politics of Peacebuilding: Civil Society in War-torn Sri Lanka (Sage, 2008) and co-editor of Corruption in the Aftermath of War (Routledge 2016).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research from the Swedish Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.