Negative Peace In Sri Lanka: What Is Preventing Positive Peace?

Abstract

The island of Sri Lanka has suffered from a long history of conflict. In May 2009, a 26-year civil war was ended by military defeat of the separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Government of Sri Lanka. Human rights organizations have accused the GOSL of committing war crimes at the end of the war and of violating human rights violations in the post-war context. The GOSL refuted all claims and declared there is peace now that the war ended. The main question has been: Where is the peace? The aim of this thesis is to identify what was preventing Sri Lanka from transitioning from a state of negative peace to positive peace as it was defined in Johan Galtung’s peace theory. The study of the historical background of Sri Lanka and the Pillars of Positive Peace developed by the Institute for Peace & Economics have aided in determining how positive peace was undermined during President Rajapaksa’s postwar presidency. The thesis found that negative peace was sustained due to a lack of accountability, restrictions placed on civil society and identity politics. The thesis concluded that there were three main blockages to positive peace.