“Stories of the Unnamed”: Critical Feminist Intervention in Sri Lankan Peacebuilding

Samarakoon, Wasala

Abstract

After the Government of Sri Lanka defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, the protracted civil war ended. However, post-war peace in the country remains uncertain, necessitating a critical evaluation of whose power and agency are involved in defining and implementing peace. This PhD dissertation explores the power dynamics within peace discourse, paying attention to the historical factors of the Sri Lankan civil war. It redefines the LTTE’s political nature, initially seen as a revolutionary militant movement associated with class and ethnic oppression, which later evolved into an ethno-nationalist movement.
The understanding of the LTTE as a revolutionary militant movement connects to Sheila Rowbotham’s radical feminist scholarship, particularly her research on French revolutionary politics. Rowbotham’s work highlights the role of class and gender Intersectionality in constructing collective revolutionary political movements. This thesis tests, confirms, and extends her framework to include the ethnic and state-assigned identities of former combatants.
Thus, the research problem of this PhD thesis is: Why have contemporary peace policies in Sri Lanka consistently overlooked and failed to recognize the peace consciousness of former Tamil combatants in exile?
This research problem raises four research questions.
(1) How do former Tamil combatants within the Liberation Tigers movement perceive the constructed social reality of Liberal peacebuilding in Sri Lanka?
(2) When and how did these former Tamil combatants organize their political consciousness for Peace following the conclusion of the civil war?
(3) What aspects of feminist discourse can be identified in the political activities for peace undertaken by former Tamil combatants?
(4) In what manner do former Tamil combatants perceive the Liberal peace political structure in terms of voice recognition and provision of public space for their representation?
(5) How do non-combatants perceive post-war peace in Sri Lanka? Additionally, how do they view the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement, its peace discourse, and the involvement of Tamil women in LTTE activities?
This is qualitative research, with empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews with former LTTE combatants (eight males and seven females) in exile in London, and non-combatants (four males and six females) residing in London and politically active in Sri Lankan political branches in the UK.
Additionally, ethnography was employed in data collection, including participation in the 'Mullivaikkal' commemoration event in London in 2022 and the 'Gota-Go-Home' protest former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022. Cyber-ethnography was also used in data collection. The empirical data was analysed through critical discourse analysis.
The key finding of this in-depth research underscores the profound influence of ethnicity (Sinhalese), gender (Male), class and caste (the dominant group that owns ideological and material production system), and state-assigned identity (non-combatant) in shaping the interpretation of Sri Lankan peace. Consequently, peace is often confined to the imagination of the dominant group, creating a stark disconnect from the lived social realities experienced on the ground. The representation of peace by groups that exist outside these intersectionality presents a significant and persistent challenge, often resulting in their exclusion or the reluctance to include their perspectives in 'official' historical narratives.

Citation

Samarakoon, W. (2024). “Stories of the Unnamed”: Critical Feminist Intervention in Sri Lankan Peacebuilding. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5088313

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 25, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2026
• Keywords: Politics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5088313
• Additional Information: School of Politics and International Studies; University of Hull
• Award Date: Nov 27, 2024