Analysing the Sri Lankan civil war through the lens of conflict resolution theory

Abstract

This paper offers a detailed perspective of third-party intervention as a major toolkit of conflict resolution. It assesses the efficacy of third-party intervention under certain working conditions, also at the same time pointing out circumstances that can ruin peaceful resolutions. Third party intervention was used to help resolve the decades-old Sri Lankan ethnic conflict between the government and the Tamil rebel group, LTTE. India was the first to attempt mediation through its peacekeeping forces, the use of which resulted detrimental to the mediation’s interest. Norway, who practiced a non-coercive mediation and claimed to play the role of a neutral third-party mediator, too came under the radar of criticism for biased mediation policies. This research points out what two different types of mediation can achieve from a single conflict and what are the conditions required for third party mediation to achieve success under complicated situations like the Sri Lankan case. The Sri Lankan peace process explores how mediation by force can backfire but at the same time exposes the powerlessness of non-coercive third-party mediation. This study holds potential to drive future researchers closer to exploring means to minimize the impacts of such limitations on future reconciliations.