BOOKS by Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits
The signing of the peace agreements between the FARC-EP and the Colombian Government in late Nove... more The signing of the peace agreements between the FARC-EP and the Colombian Government in late November 2016 has generated new prospects for peace in Colombia, opening the possibility of redressing the harm inflicted on Colombians by Colombians.
Talking about peace and transitional justice requires us to think about how to operationalize peace agreements to promote justice and coexistence for peace. This volume brings together reflections by Colombian academics and practitioners alongside pieces provided by researchers and practitioners in other countries where transitional justice initiatives have taken place (Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Peru). This volume has been written in the south, by the south, for the south.
The book engages with the challenges ahead for the coming generations of Colombians. Rivers of ink have dealt with the end goals of transitional justice, but victims require us to take the quest for human rights beyond the normative realm of theorizing justice and into the practical realm of engaging how to implement justice initiatives.
The tension between theory―the legislative frameworks guaranteeing human rights―and practice―the realization of these ideas―will frame Colombia’s success (or failure) in consolidating the implementation of the peace agreements with the FARC-EP.
Papers by Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits
Routledge eBooks, Jun 5, 2020
Since the political crisis in 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and ... more Since the political crisis in 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and the Sahel using various external intervention instruments gathered under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). These instruments are designed to achieve functional and normative goals of the EU. Situating in the debate on normative actorness of the EU and by applying the Whole-of-Society (WOS) approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding, this paper investigates how the European Capacity Building mission for the Malian Security Forces (EUCAP Sahel-Mali) is operationalising two key EU-SSR-related normslocal ownership and inclusivity-and manoeuvres context and programme specific challenges. By analysing the missiontraining/capacity building and outreach, this paper argues the EUCAP mission has been largely functional than normative driven, thus reducing the EU's overall reputation as a normative actor, particularly in the area of security. This paper offers practical recommendations to reach the EU's normative goals via SSR.
Sri Lanka has been regarded as a model democracy among former British colonies. It was lauded for... more Sri Lanka has been regarded as a model democracy among former British colonies. It was lauded for its impressive achievement in terms of human development indicators. However, Sri Lanka's modern history can also be read as a tragic story of inter-ethnic inequalities and tensions, resulting in years of violent conflicts. Two long spells of anti-state youth uprisings were followed by nearly three decades of civil war, and most recently a renewed upsurge of events are examples of the on-going uneasy project of state-building. This book discusses that state-building in Sri Lanka is centred on the struggle for hegemony amidst a kind of politics that rejects individual and group equality, opposes the social integration of marginalised groups and appeals to narrow, fearful and xenophobic tendencies among the majority population and minorities alike. It answers the pressing questions of - How do the dynamics of intra-Sinhalese class relations and Sinhalese politics influence the trajectories of post-colonial state-building? What tensions emerge over time, between Sinhalese hegemony-building and wider state-building? How did these tensions manifest in majority and minority relationships?
Poverty and Development
This chapter situates human mobility at the intersection of security and development. Capitalism ... more This chapter situates human mobility at the intersection of security and development. Capitalism prompted much of the population of Europe to move out of rural areas into cities, and from there imperialism led to huge forced and voluntary migration towards settler colonies. By tying development funding and humanitarian aid to cooperation of developing states in migration control, 'the West' uses development aid to criminalize whole categories of migrants, well beyond its borders. Myths around migration perpetuate containment and control that keeps around 90 per cent of forced migrants and refugees in or near their home regions. More humane migration and asylum policies could benefit host and home countries alike, in the long run. Migrants can be viewed as economic assets, a demographic boon, and a source of cultural enrichment.
Sri Lanka has been regarded as a model democracy among former British colonies. It was lauded for... more Sri Lanka has been regarded as a model democracy among former British colonies. It was lauded for its impressive achievement in terms of human development indicators. However, Sri Lanka's modern history can also be read as a tragic story of inter-ethnic inequalities and tensions, resulting in years of violent conflicts. Two long spells of anti-state youth uprisings were followed by nearly three decades of civil war, and most recently a renewed upsurge of events are examples of the on-going uneasy project of state-building. This book discusses that state-building in Sri Lanka is centred on the struggle for hegemony amidst a kind of politics that rejects individual and group equality, opposes the social integration of marginalised groups and appeals to narrow, fearful and xenophobic tendencies among the majority population and minorities alike. It answers the pressing questions of - How do the dynamics of intra-Sinhalese class relations and Sinhalese politics influence the traject...
More suitable for the social sciences and humanities Jack Spaapen 4 Valorisation at the EUR
Studies in South Asian Film & Media
This article analyses how a Bangladeshi documentary film Bishkanta (The Poison Thorn) () directed... more This article analyses how a Bangladeshi documentary film Bishkanta (The Poison Thorn) () directed by a feminist and cultural activist Farzana Boby negotiates the gendered war narrative of Bangladesh and how the film is being used as an enabling platform for the Birangonas (‘war-raped women’) to express their long-time endured suffering and outrage. The Liberation War of Bangladesh (1971) is amongst the most represented themes in Bangladeshi media culture. However, feminist scholars have been critical about the gender blindness of the depictions, with women’s experiences encoded only as victims. Hence, a documentary demanding recognition of women’s contributions and enabling space for women to speak about their losses, pains and grievance is an exception. By analysing the narrative techniques (i.e. plot, perspective, language and frames) this article shows how Bishkanta represents the stories of female rape survivors and make a claim for gender justice. Our findings suggest, despite ...
This report summarizes the outcomes of the WOSCAP Community of Practice roundtable discussion on ... more This report summarizes the outcomes of the WOSCAP Community of Practice roundtable discussion on civil-military synergies in EU action held on 26 September in The Hague, The Netherlands. This meeting took place in the context of the EU-funded Whole of Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding project, aimed at enhancing the EU's conflict prevention and peacebuilding capabilities. It also includes brief summaries of two other meetings that GPPAC coorganised this year on related topics, which also contribute to the outcomes and community of practice. GPPAC aims to identify (best) practices on both a strategic and operational level in civil-military synergies and cooperation that are relevant for the EU, including examples from other actors such as the UN. In our quest for answers, we invited practitioners and experts on civil-military cooperation to provide feedback on specific questions and input as to what evidence of relevant practices there is which may be taken beyond ad ...
This scoping study was produced as part of the project "Whole of Society Conflict Prevention... more This scoping study was produced as part of the project "Whole of Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding", which aims to enhance the EU's peacebuilding and conflict prevention capabilities. This paper is part of the first series of orientation papers that were intended to indicate lines of inquiry and propose research questions, as a basis for discussion and input for the project's Theoretical and Methodological Framework. They seek to provide an overview of scholarly knowledge about the EU's capabilities and means for conflict prevention and peacebuilding in relation to several cross-cutting themes and clusters that the project focuses on. More information at www.woscap.eu
The signing of the peace agreements between the FARC-EP and the Colombian Government in late Nove... more The signing of the peace agreements between the FARC-EP and the Colombian Government in late November 2016 has generated new prospects for peace in Colombia, opening the possibility of redressing the harm inflicted on Colombians by Colombians. Talking about peace and transitional justice requires us to think about how<strong> </strong>to operationalize peace agreements to promote justice and coexistence for peace. This volume brings together reflections by Colombian academics and practitioners alongside pieces provided by researchers and practitioners in other countries where transitional justice initiatives have taken place (Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Peru). This volume has been written in the south, by the south, for the south. The book engages with the challenges ahead for the coming generations of Colombians. Rivers of ink have dealt with the end goals of transitional justice, but victims require us to take the quest for human rights beyond t...
Also many thanks to Ms. Silvana Frank and Ms. Kristina Miletic for their editorial support in the... more Also many thanks to Ms. Silvana Frank and Ms. Kristina Miletic for their editorial support in the previous draft. This report was produced as part of the project "Whole of Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding". It reflects on the challenges found in trying to enhance civil-military synergies in EU action, and identifies opportunities based on the experiences of practitioners on good and bad practices at the operational level. It also puts forward several key recommendations for effective civil-military synergies in EU external missions, contributing to current debates on this topic, which will require further analysis and problem-solving beyond the life of this project. Based on the research and engagement with key stakeholders, it is part of a series of reports that investigate cases of best practices and lessons learned related to several cross-cutting themes that the project focuses on.
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 2022
Trends in the Judiciary, 2021
The Dutch Senate recently passed a new Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP). The SEP highlights the... more The Dutch Senate recently passed a new Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP). The SEP highlights the importance of social impact for research. The new Protocol was developed by the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), VSNU (Association of Dutch universities) and NWO (Dutch Science Council) and is to be used to evaluate academic research from 2015-2021. Based on recent discussions and publications, Peter A.G. van Bergeijk, Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits, and Linda Johnson discuss some of the implications of the Protocol’s new criterion, using Development Studies as an example.
textabstractAbstract: For decades, Sri Lanka has been a laboratory for research and scholarship o... more textabstractAbstract: For decades, Sri Lanka has been a laboratory for research and scholarship on ethnic conflict, liberal peacebuilding and civil war. Methodologically, this pre-war academic work laments the risks of applying simplified “episode based approaches” and narrow theoretical frameworks leading to adventurous interventions with meager appreciation of the complexities of state-society relations. Although this has contributed significantly to a better understanding of the conflict, most of the resultant explanations have, in the aftermath of the official (or rather military) ending of the civil war in May 2009, become largely questionable. This paper relies upon materials collected during fieldwork during the first quarter of 2009 and 2011. In it, I explore the relevant state-in-society dynamics that have contributed to the co-existence of negative and positive peace, limited war and total war and to assess the capacities for violent conflict reproduction during the period...
European Security, 2020
This article is a contribution to critical International Relations scholarship on European Union ... more This article is a contribution to critical International Relations scholarship on European Union foreign and security policy and to the debates on "Normative Europe". It focuses on the ways in which the EU engages with their own gender equality policies in external Security Sector Reform (SSR) missions. By analysing visual materials of the European Union Advisory Mission-Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) and European Union Capacity Building Mission in Sahel Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali) missions, this article identifies the discrepancies between the EU's proclaimed policy goals about gender equality and visual representations of women and men in the missions' newsletter photos. These representations reflect a lacklustre approach and suggest a lack of commitment to practices of gender equality and positive role modelling in SSR's day-to-day activities. This article suggests the EU-SSR missions overhaul their public communication strategies to focus first on "how" to communicate gender equality norms and only then on "what" to communicate. This study shows one concrete opportunity and space where this can be achieved.
Peacebuilding, 2018
Since the political crisis in 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and ... more Since the political crisis in 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and the Sahel using various external intervention instruments gathered under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). These instruments are designed to achieve functional and normative goals of the EU. Situating in the debate on normative actorness of the EU and by applying the Whole-of-Society (WOS) approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding, this paper investigates how the European Capacity Building mission for the Malian Security Forces (EUCAP Sahel-Mali) is operationalising two key EU-SSR-related normslocal ownership and inclusivity-and manoeuvres context and programme specific challenges. By analysing the missiontraining/capacity building and outreach, this paper argues the EUCAP mission has been largely functional than normative driven, thus reducing the EU's overall reputation as a normative actor, particularly in the area of security. This paper offers practical recommendations to reach the EU's normative goals via SSR.
2.1 Introduction 2.2 Nationalisms and ethnic interpretations 2.3 Class origins of Sinhala-Buddhis... more 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Nationalisms and ethnic interpretations 2.3 Class origins of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism 2.3.1 Anti-Colonial Nationalism: bourgeois leadership 2.3.2 Marching towards independence: a search for new allies and new enemies 2.4 Post-colonial factional politics and the functions of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism 2.4.1 Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism as the vanguard of elite politics 2.4.2 Bandaranaike's politics: Left going Right 2.4.3 The ethnic caricature in politics and 'classless' Marxist politics: whose left? vi I N PURSUIT OF HEGEMONY: POLITICS AND STATE BUILDING IN SRI LANKA 2.5 JVP Marxism and JHU Chauvinism: turncoat Lefts aiding the Hegemony of the Right 2.5.1 Hela Urumaya and the Newest Sinhala-Buddhist 'Karumaya' in politics 2.6 Buddhism betrayed?: How and by Whom? 2.7 Tamil ethno-nationalism: its functions in Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist politics 2.8 Concluding remarks Notes 3 MUTTI (POTS) AND PANDAM (TORCHES): PATRONAGE POLITICS 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Patronage in the Sri Lankan Literature 3.2.1 Where did patronage politics come from? 3.2.2 Development of a political party system in post-independent Sri Lanka and the use of patronage for party building 3.2.3 Dynamics of political party development and strengthening of mass political clientelism 3.3 Early processes of state building through 'mass clientelism' 3.3.1 Challenges in retaining the old clienteles: elite hegemony building at stake? 3.4 Clientelism and state policies: how sacred is the sacred cow? From welfare politics to warfare politics 3.5 The post-1977 period: state economic policies and transformation of the nature of the political patronage system
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BOOKS by Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits
Talking about peace and transitional justice requires us to think about how to operationalize peace agreements to promote justice and coexistence for peace. This volume brings together reflections by Colombian academics and practitioners alongside pieces provided by researchers and practitioners in other countries where transitional justice initiatives have taken place (Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Peru). This volume has been written in the south, by the south, for the south.
The book engages with the challenges ahead for the coming generations of Colombians. Rivers of ink have dealt with the end goals of transitional justice, but victims require us to take the quest for human rights beyond the normative realm of theorizing justice and into the practical realm of engaging how to implement justice initiatives.
The tension between theory―the legislative frameworks guaranteeing human rights―and practice―the realization of these ideas―will frame Colombia’s success (or failure) in consolidating the implementation of the peace agreements with the FARC-EP.
Papers by Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits
Talking about peace and transitional justice requires us to think about how to operationalize peace agreements to promote justice and coexistence for peace. This volume brings together reflections by Colombian academics and practitioners alongside pieces provided by researchers and practitioners in other countries where transitional justice initiatives have taken place (Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Peru). This volume has been written in the south, by the south, for the south.
The book engages with the challenges ahead for the coming generations of Colombians. Rivers of ink have dealt with the end goals of transitional justice, but victims require us to take the quest for human rights beyond the normative realm of theorizing justice and into the practical realm of engaging how to implement justice initiatives.
The tension between theory―the legislative frameworks guaranteeing human rights―and practice―the realization of these ideas―will frame Colombia’s success (or failure) in consolidating the implementation of the peace agreements with the FARC-EP.