Impact of Transnational Politics of the Tamil Diaspora on the Peace Building Process in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In today’s globalized world, a diaspora, a community of people living outside of their motherland, has become a salient actor or a force determining the internal as well as external policies of the home country through its transnational nature. The Tamil diaspora, mainly active in countries such as France, England, Canada and the USA, is no exception. During the decades-long civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Government of Sri Lanka, the Tamil diaspora extended monetary, material and moral support for the cause of the Tamils striving to create a separate land for their ethnicity in Sri Lanka. With the end of the ethnic conflict and the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the Tamil diaspora emerged as a dominant actor in Tamil political discourse continuing the struggle of Tamils for equality and justice, through different approaches and strategies. This study aims at identifying the characteristics, dynamics and current trends of transnational politics of the Tamil diaspora and thereby finally, examining the impact of transnational politics of the Tamil diaspora on the peace building process of post-war Sri Lanka. The study is qualitative in nature and an extensive literature review has been conducted. Data collected are analyzed using main aspects of the study of diaspora, conflict transformation and peace building. As per the study, the Tamil diaspora through its transnational politics has a negative impact on the peace building process of Sri Lanka, if it continues to orient towards its pro-LTTE and pro-separatist ideology. At the same time, it can be concluded that the constructive potentials of the Tamil diaspora can be utilized for conflict transformation thereby facilitating a fruitful peace building process in Sri Lanka.