The Challenges of Conflict Management: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

Conflict processes are determined both by the larger geopolitical context and the domestic political structure. Yet current studies tend to examine either international or domestic factors, neglecting their interaction. This article undertakes an analysis of the Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka in order to examine domestic-international intersections. In countries where civil war coexists with stable, democratic institutions, conflict management becomes a complex process of balancing competing demands within the government. Under such conditions, noncoercive intervention, such as mediation, can play a more constructive role than military action. The argument of this paper marks a shift from the existing literature which tends to focus on conflicts in failed, anarchic states where coercive intervention becomes necessary.