Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Sri Lanka
London; New York: Routledge (2025), xxi, 446 pp.
"The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Sri Lanka offers a comprehensive survey of issues facing the island country and an overview delineating some key moments in the country’s contemporary polity, economy, and sociality. This book outlines aspects and influences foundational to understanding a country defined by its economic and political turmoil, and rift with public distrust in today’s shifting geopolitics. Chapters by various established scholars highlight this book’s pivotal contribution in situating Sri Lanka’s turmoil and deprivation in this current conjuncture. The handbook is structured in seven parts: Nations and Nationalism Politics, State and Institutions Economy and Political Economy Work and Life Environment and Environmental Politics Society, Social Systems, and Culture Moment of Flux, Looking Ahead Each part includes on average six chapters covering the social sciences and humanities to survey emerging and cutting-edge areas of the study of Sri Lanka. Multi-disciplinary in focus, the book also includes an introductory section and concluding section, which creates the space and platform for senior, mid-ranking, and junior academics to engage in dynamic conversation with each other about contemporary Sri Lanka." (Publisher description)
PART I: INTRODUCTION
If I was President / Sarah Kabir, 3
Slivers of Sri Lanka: Sways, Stability, and System Change? 7
Kanchana N. Ruwanpura and Amjad Mohamed Saleem
PART II: NATIONS AND NATIONALISM
1 Island Imaginaries: Insularity, Repetition, and the Spatial Politics of the National / Tariq Jazeel, 33
2 Authoritarian Politics and Gender in Sri Lanka: A Survey / Rajni Gamage, 43
3 Nationalism, Conflict, and Power-Sharing / Bart Klem , 55
4 Centring Conflict: Contemporary Sri Lanka in Perspective / Shamara Wettimuny, 68
PART III: POLITICS, STATE, AND INSTITUTIONS
5 Defining Sri Lanka’s Identity: Reflections on Key Constitutional and the Legal Moments / Bhavani Fonseka and Luwie Niranjan Ganeshathasan, 83
6 Imagining the Nation: A Critical Overview of Sinhala Nationalism and Its Cultural Coordinates / Harshana Rambukwella, 94
7 Eastern Muslims of Sri Lanka: Developing an Identity Consciousness / Aboobacker Rameez and Mohamed Anifa Mohamed Fowsar, 106
8 Transitional Justice: State of Play in Sri Lanka / Farah Mihlar, 118
9 Contemporary Gender Activism: Engaging the Law and the State / Kaushalya Ariyarathne and Kiran Grewal, 130
PART IV: ECONOMY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY
10 Sri Lanka’s Foreign Debt Crisis: Deep Roots? / Umesh Moramudali, 147
11 The Sri Lankan Economy: Hope, Despair, and Prospects / Prema-Chandra Athukorala, 162
12 Gender Equality in Sri Lanka’s Economy: Persistent Challenges / Dileni Gunewardena, 176
13 Unveiling the Margins: Women, Caste, Class, and Post-War Development in Sri Lanka’s North and East / Narayani Sritharan, 194
14 Higher Education in Contemporary Sri Lanka: Key Topics / Kaushalya Perera, 207
PART V: WORK AND LIFE
15 Informality, Masculinity, and Agglomeration Imaginaries / Nipesh Palat Narayanan, 221
16 The Work and Lives of Agricultural Workers / Cynthia M. Caron, 231
17 The Gendered Political Economy of Work in Post-War Sri Lanka / Jayanthi Thiyaga Lingham, 242
18 Work and Life of Sri Lankan Garment Factory Workers: A Gendered Perspective / Shyamain Wickramasingha, 253
19 Microfinance, Debt and Indebtedness of Rural Sector Workers in Sri Lanka / Nedha de Silva and Amali Wedagedara, 264
PART VI: ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
20 Following Currents: Oceanic and Littoral Sri Lanka / Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa, 277
21 A Political Ecology of Sri Lanka’s Urban and Regional Wetlands / Missaka Hettiarachchi, 288
22 Sri Lanka’s Energy Transition: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back / Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran, 300
23 Environmental Protection in Sri Lanka: A Critical Legal Approach / Kalana Senaratane, 314
24 Ecological States: Nature, Militarization, and Nationalism in Sri Lanka / Vivian Y. Choi, 325
25 Sri Lanka’s Environmental History / Sujit Sivasundaram, 335
PART VII: SOCIETY, SOCIAL SYSTEMS, AND CULTURE
26 Public Health System of Sri Lanka: Past, Present, and Future / Shashika Bandara, 349
27 Politicizing ‘the Virtual’: Examining the Internet on the Intersections of Gender and Sexuality in Sri Lanka / Senel Wanniarachchi and Zahrah Rizwan, 361
28 Feminist Pathways and Political Possibilities in Sri Lankan Plantation Studies / Mythri Jegathesan, 372
29 Caste in Contemporary Sri Lanka / Dominic Esler, 383
30 Dynamics of Low-Income Settlements in Colombo, Sri Lanka / Mohideen M. Alikhan, 396
PART VIII: MOMENT OF FLUX, LOOKING AHEAD
31 COVID-19: Sri Lanka’s Moral Test / Santhushya Fernando, 409
32 People in the Palace / Dinesha Samararatne, 416
33 After Aragalaya: Moving beyond the Status Quo? / Oliver Walton, 420
34 Consolidating a Dangerous Consensus: The Failure of Sri Lanka’s Public Policy Complex in 2019 / Kusum Wijetilleke, 423
35 The ‘Dreary Pillage of Privacy’, Talking Economics in Colombo’s Tower Blocks / Michael Collyer, 430
If I was President / Sarah Kabir, 3
Slivers of Sri Lanka: Sways, Stability, and System Change? 7
Kanchana N. Ruwanpura and Amjad Mohamed Saleem
PART II: NATIONS AND NATIONALISM
1 Island Imaginaries: Insularity, Repetition, and the Spatial Politics of the National / Tariq Jazeel, 33
2 Authoritarian Politics and Gender in Sri Lanka: A Survey / Rajni Gamage, 43
3 Nationalism, Conflict, and Power-Sharing / Bart Klem , 55
4 Centring Conflict: Contemporary Sri Lanka in Perspective / Shamara Wettimuny, 68
PART III: POLITICS, STATE, AND INSTITUTIONS
5 Defining Sri Lanka’s Identity: Reflections on Key Constitutional and the Legal Moments / Bhavani Fonseka and Luwie Niranjan Ganeshathasan, 83
6 Imagining the Nation: A Critical Overview of Sinhala Nationalism and Its Cultural Coordinates / Harshana Rambukwella, 94
7 Eastern Muslims of Sri Lanka: Developing an Identity Consciousness / Aboobacker Rameez and Mohamed Anifa Mohamed Fowsar, 106
8 Transitional Justice: State of Play in Sri Lanka / Farah Mihlar, 118
9 Contemporary Gender Activism: Engaging the Law and the State / Kaushalya Ariyarathne and Kiran Grewal, 130
PART IV: ECONOMY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY
10 Sri Lanka’s Foreign Debt Crisis: Deep Roots? / Umesh Moramudali, 147
11 The Sri Lankan Economy: Hope, Despair, and Prospects / Prema-Chandra Athukorala, 162
12 Gender Equality in Sri Lanka’s Economy: Persistent Challenges / Dileni Gunewardena, 176
13 Unveiling the Margins: Women, Caste, Class, and Post-War Development in Sri Lanka’s North and East / Narayani Sritharan, 194
14 Higher Education in Contemporary Sri Lanka: Key Topics / Kaushalya Perera, 207
PART V: WORK AND LIFE
15 Informality, Masculinity, and Agglomeration Imaginaries / Nipesh Palat Narayanan, 221
16 The Work and Lives of Agricultural Workers / Cynthia M. Caron, 231
17 The Gendered Political Economy of Work in Post-War Sri Lanka / Jayanthi Thiyaga Lingham, 242
18 Work and Life of Sri Lankan Garment Factory Workers: A Gendered Perspective / Shyamain Wickramasingha, 253
19 Microfinance, Debt and Indebtedness of Rural Sector Workers in Sri Lanka / Nedha de Silva and Amali Wedagedara, 264
PART VI: ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
20 Following Currents: Oceanic and Littoral Sri Lanka / Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa, 277
21 A Political Ecology of Sri Lanka’s Urban and Regional Wetlands / Missaka Hettiarachchi, 288
22 Sri Lanka’s Energy Transition: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back / Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran, 300
23 Environmental Protection in Sri Lanka: A Critical Legal Approach / Kalana Senaratane, 314
24 Ecological States: Nature, Militarization, and Nationalism in Sri Lanka / Vivian Y. Choi, 325
25 Sri Lanka’s Environmental History / Sujit Sivasundaram, 335
PART VII: SOCIETY, SOCIAL SYSTEMS, AND CULTURE
26 Public Health System of Sri Lanka: Past, Present, and Future / Shashika Bandara, 349
27 Politicizing ‘the Virtual’: Examining the Internet on the Intersections of Gender and Sexuality in Sri Lanka / Senel Wanniarachchi and Zahrah Rizwan, 361
28 Feminist Pathways and Political Possibilities in Sri Lankan Plantation Studies / Mythri Jegathesan, 372
29 Caste in Contemporary Sri Lanka / Dominic Esler, 383
30 Dynamics of Low-Income Settlements in Colombo, Sri Lanka / Mohideen M. Alikhan, 396
PART VIII: MOMENT OF FLUX, LOOKING AHEAD
31 COVID-19: Sri Lanka’s Moral Test / Santhushya Fernando, 409
32 People in the Palace / Dinesha Samararatne, 416
33 After Aragalaya: Moving beyond the Status Quo? / Oliver Walton, 420
34 Consolidating a Dangerous Consensus: The Failure of Sri Lanka’s Public Policy Complex in 2019 / Kusum Wijetilleke, 423
35 The ‘Dreary Pillage of Privacy’, Talking Economics in Colombo’s Tower Blocks / Michael Collyer, 430
