The period between 2001 and 2006 saw the rise and fall of an internationally supported effort to bring a protracted violent conflict in Sri Lanka to a peaceful resolution. A ceasefire agreement, signed in February 2002, was followed by six rounds of peace talks, but growing political violence, disagreements over core issues and a fragmentation of the constituencies of the key parties led to an eventual breakdown. This book brings together a unique range of perspectives on this problematic and ultimately unsuccessful peace process.

Jonathan Goodhand is a Reader in Conflict and Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research focuses on the political economy of conflict and the role of international aid, with a particular focus on NGOs.

Jonathan Spencer is Professor of the Anthropology of South Asia at the University of Edinburgh. He has carried out fieldwork in Sri Lanka since the early 1980s, concentrating at first on rural change and local politics, but writing more recently on ethnic conflict, political violence and political non-violence.

Benedikt Korf is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland. His interests focus on the politics of violence, authority and disorder in Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He has also worked as consultant for several aid agencies in Sri Lanka.

1. Caught in the Peace Trap? On the Illiberal Consequences of Liberal Peace in Sri Lanka Jonathan Goodhand and Benedikt Korf 2. Government-LTTE Peace Negotiations in 2002-2005 and the Clash of State Formation Projects Jayadeva Uyangoda 3. The Indian Factor in the Peace Process and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka S.I. Keethaponcalan 4. Superpowers and Small Conflicts: The United States and Sri Lanka Jeffrey Lunsted 5. The Military Dynamics of the Peace Process and Its Aftermath Chris Smith 6. Would the Real Dutugemunu Please Stand Up? The Politics of Sinhala Nationalist Authenticity and Populist Discontent David Rampton with Asanga Welikala 7. Whose War? Whose Peace? The LTTE and the Politics of the North East Liz Philipson 8. The Genealogy of Muslim Political Voices in Sri Lanka Nick Lewer and Mohammed Ismail 9. Politics of Market Reforms and the UNF-led Negotiations Sunil Bastian 10. Aiding Peace? An Insider's View of Donor Support for the Sri Lankan Peace Process, 2000-2005 Adam Burke and Anthea Mulakala 11. Muddling the Peace Process: The Political Dynamics of the Tsunami, Aid and Conflict Georg Frerks and Bart Klem 12. In the Balance? Civil Society and the Peace Process 2002-2008 Oliver Walton with Paikiasothy Sarrabanmuttu 13. Reflections on an Illiberal Peace: Stories from the East Jonathan Spencer