Centre for Just Peace and Democracy Mapping Tamil Transnational Politics: Past, Present and Future (original) (raw)
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This paper critically engages evolving frameworks of nationalism scholarship in International Relations (IR) and the wider social sciences, and their significance for Tamil nationalism, particularly in the current global political context. Nationalism has gone through three phases of scholarly engagement from the period of the Cold War to the present: from a willingness to engage the phenomenon during the Cold War, to the initial post-Cold War period when nationalism was marginalised in scholarship – concurrently with its disqualification in western policy and practice, and in the current juncture, where the sheer proliferation of nationalist movements, notably including in the West, is compelling a renewed focus on the phenomenon.
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Regionalism has commonly been expected to dissolve as a consequence of the administrative regional penetration of the centralized modern state and the homogenizing forces associated with modernization. This mode of reasoning has reappeared recently among authors who see globalization as a universal force that will eradicate regional economic inequalities, local identities and regional political mobilization. Contrary to these expectations, regional autonomy movements continue to play a central political role within many states. Consequently, it remains an important analytical challenge to understand the construction and politicization of regional interests.
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Stokke, K. (1998). Sinhalese and Tamil Nationalism as Postcolonial Political Projects from “Above,” 1948-1983. Political Geography, 17, 1, 83-113.
This article examines Sinhalese and Tamil nationalism in Sri Lanka in the period from independence in 1948 to the rise of militant Tamil separatist nationalism in the early 1980s. Inspired by recent developments in political geography, the core of the argument is that Sinhalese and Tamil nationalism represent post-colonial political projects where nationalist material and discursive practices have been initiated by segments of the dominant class for the purpose of mobilization within political alliances. More specifically, it is argued that Sri Lankan post-colonial politics has been characterized by three kinds of political alliances; ethnic class alliances, political patron-client networks and strategic government alliances. The emergence and radicalization of Sinhalese and Tamil nationalist politics should be understood as a matter of continuities and changes in the material and discursive practices within these alliances, In the early post-colonial period, this politics of alliances ensured a degree of political participation and social redistribution, and as such served to defuse ethnic and class tensions. In the late post-colonial period, the neglect of the material and discursive practices of the ethnic class alliances and particularly the strategic government alliances undermined the legitimacy of the political system and led to a radicalization of Tamil nationalist demands in the 1970s and the emergence of militant Tamil nationalism from below in the 1980s.
2018
This is the final of three Thematic Reports published as part of a CREST-funded project carried out by a team of researchers at City, University of London, and Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. With the objective of better understanding Tamil diaspora communities' attitudes and engagement in the Sri Lankan civil conflict (1983-2009) and its aftermath, the project explores diaspora and refugee communities' relationship with the changing socio-political environment in the homeland, exploring what shapes and influences processes of radicalisation or moderation among these communities. It recognises that the socio-political circumstances in which these processes develop are often crucial to understanding why a community or individuals within that community abroad act in a certain way; this includes analysis of different scales and levels of engagement, both in home and host countries, as well as different 'areas' of engagement, which can include social, economic and political interactions. The three thematic reports produced as part of this project cumulatively build a comprehensive picture of the state of knowledge on political action among diaspora, refugee and asylum populations. The theoretically-informed, literatureand evidence-grounded conclusions arising from these three thematic reports are therefore of relevance beyond the case of Sri Lanka. Thematic Report One discussed how four analytical concepts, diaspora, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and translocalism, have come to frame the academic discussion on overseas politics and the potential of these concepts to shed light on the relationship between mobility and political action. Thematic Report Two complements the previous report's broad conceptual discussion by specifically focusing on an analysis of the context and drivers of political action among diaspora and refugee populations, and engaging with the term 'refugee politics'. The current paper-the final Thematic Report-analyses the growing 'securitisation' of refugees and other forcibly displaced populations and calls for greater consideration of structural vulnerabilities in the forced migration and displacement cycle that increase the risk of radicalisation, extremism and related political behaviours.
The case of Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora can be cited as a classic case of participation by a diaspora in the homeland conflict and to some extent also in conflict resolution. Influenced by lived experiences of discrimination and suffering in an ethnocentric homeland and a range of racial prejudices and economic deprivation, in the host lands, the diaspora Tamils developed a strong sense of Tamil identity and ethno-nationalism which the LTTE could successfully harvest on. However, with the devastating civil war coming to an end, and a new government in power, numerous opportunities have opened up for diaspora participation in the development and reconstruction of the war-torn regions. All that is required is a pragmatic and reconciliatory approach by both sides – by the diaspora as well as by the Sri Lankan state
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This article exposits and contrasts the roles of two diasporas in ethnic conflict waged in their homelands, namely the Sikh diaspora's involvement in the Punjab insurgency in north India and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora's role in Sri Lanka's Tamil insurgency. It draws out the various similarities and distinctions between the two in their use of technology, means of mobilization and identity production, and the geographical and political reach of their institutional arrangements. The article argues that the varying means by which these diasporas came into being affected the ways in which they mobilized and the positions they espoused towards homeland politics. It finds that the abilities of the two diasporas to contribute to events "back home" differed in part because of the scope of their respective institutional arrangements.
Contributing to Development? Transnational Activities among Tamils in Norway
Erdal, M. B. and Stokke, K. (2009). Contributing to Development? Transnational Activities among Tamils in Norway. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 18(3): 397-418.
The theme of this article is the transnational activities of members of the Tamil diaspora in Norway and their significance to development in the Northeast region of Sri Lanka. Our analysis acknowledges the complexity of Tamil transnational activities, particularly in regard to issues which may be seen as political. A key observation among the majority of the Tamil diaspora concerns their pragmatic and seemingly apolitical approach to development. This is explained with reference to the positionality of the Tamil diaspora, as a key actor in regard to politics and development in Northeast Sri Lanka, but simultaneously trapped by the dynamics of war and peace. Thus, members of the Tamil diaspora employ transnational strategies, but in forms that cater to complex and sometimes contradictory needs for Tamil identity and belonging, political interests of national self-determination and security, and survival for families.