“Only war makes it possible to mobilize all of today’s technical resources while maintaining the property system.”

- Walter Benjamin, 1936

About Asanga Welikala

Asanga Welikala is a doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh, and a legal scholar specialising in constitution-making and peace processes. His recent publications include (with David Rampton) "Would the real Dutugemunu please stand up? The politics of Sinhala nationalist authenticity and populist discontent", in Jonathan Goodhand et al, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka: Caught in the Peace Trap (Routledge, 2011)

Articles by Asanga Welikala

'Reconciliation in Sri Lanka means the youth must lead the way': a sceptical response

Asanga Welikala 5 March 2012

There is nothing objectionable in arguing for greater and more meaningful participation of youth in the political process, so long as this is not a substitute for a proper post-war constitutional settlement.

Inconvenient truths: international accountability and domestic politics in Sri Lanka

Asanga Welikala 19 August 2011

The Sri Lankan regime needs to be intellectually and electorally defeated. But in this task, the spectre of international intervention is not merely a distraction, but a hindrance.

Sri Lanka: war crimes and accountability

Asanga Welikala 30 May 2011

The report of an expert panel finds evidence of serious human-rights violations during Sri Lanka’s long civil war - but also that the political and legal environment conducive to investigating these is lacking. This situation presents all those who seek to develop a principled approach to post-war Sri Lanka with serious moral and political dilemmas, says Asanga Welikala.

This week's editor

Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

A social Europe must be a political Europe
Bo Stråth

As Europe is provincialized: a reply to Etienne Balibar
Sandro Mezzadra

European debate

A republican call for a basic income
Daniel Raventos and Julie Wark

Nuclear non-proliferation

oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

Mali - the plot thickens

Remote control war

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About Asanga Welikala

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'Reconciliation in Sri Lanka means the youth must lead the way': a sceptical response

Inconvenient truths: international accountability and domestic politics in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: war crimes and accountability

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