Ethnic conflicts and social relations in Sri Lanka. A framework for analysis

Abstract

Using Sri Lanka as an example, this article outlines a framework for a class analysis of ethnic conflicts. In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese and Sri Lanka Tamils coexist as internally stratified ethnic groups. After independence, a class alliance between the Sinhalese segments of the superordinate and subordinate classes emerged. Legitimized by a hegemonic Sinhalese ethnonationalist ideology, the state appropriated parts of the economy through expansion of the public sector. Appropriated surplus value was redistributed through peasant development schemes and welfare programs. The Sinhalese class alliance was undermined by an economic crisis leading to economic liberalization in 1977 and widespread ethnic violence in the 1980s.