South Asia Faces the Future: Illiberalism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka

Issue Date January 2002
Volume 13
Issue 1
Page Numbers 84-98
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Read the full essay here.

Irresponsible leadership and ill-designed institutions have made this island republic prey to a bitter and violent ethnic conflict that is threatening to undermine democracy itself.

About the Author

Neil DeVotta is professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University and the author of From Ethnocracy to Kakistocracy: Sri Lanka’s Pathway to Ruin (forthcoming).

View all work by Neil DeVotta

Further Reading

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Comments on Nationalism and Democracy

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For the second straight time, voters rejected a presidential candidate with ties to undemocratic Islamist forces, but victorious incumbent Joko Widodo felt compelled to tone down his support for liberalism.

Volume 31, Issue 3

Making Sense of Russia’s Illiberalism

The illiberal credo prominent in Russia’s foreign policy is more than just a clever political ploy. Rather, this outlook reflects the traumatic experience of the 1990s, and it is stoked…