Ethnic differentials: Sri Lanka,Malaysia, and Israel

Studies in Comparative International Development -     

Trade,taxes and debt repayment in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this article is to estimate the cost of taxing the export, import or domestic sectors of Sri Lanka for the purpose of reducing the national debt. A simple GNP model is used to estimate the elasticities that characterise the three aggregate sectors and are used to simulate the effects of taxing for debt servicing. The results show that a tax on the import sector generates the largest net savings on trade balance and that the savings from not importing can be substantial. However, for the period 1977–87 a 10.0 per cent tax on the import sector caused a decline in the growth of the economy by 3.0 per cent. The burden of the tax falls heavily on the domestic sector in terms of lost production and increased unemployment.     

徜徉在斯里兰卡的宝石城

曾有幸到过斯里兰卡的宝石城--拉特纳普拉进行观光游览,能亲眼目睹众多稀有宝石,也算是我人生的一大快事.     

Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka

This article looks at the dynamics of Diaspora groups as a possible catalyst for peace-building within violent segmented societies. With the help of two case studies, Irish-America's role in Northern Ireland and Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora's role in Sri Lanka, it locates the variable impacts of Diaspora involvement in violent conflicts within their homelands. Despite their unique histories and individual complexity, both of these cases illustrate that Diasporas have a significant role to play in peace-building, are diverse rather than homogenous communities, and that they represent an important and often underutilized resource to bring negotiated settlement to violent conflicts.     

Phases of Irrigation Development in Asian Tropics: A Case Study of the Philippines and Sri Lanka

Using data for the Philippines and Sri Lanka during the last five decades, we examine three phases of agricultural development experienced by the rice sector in insular countries in tropical monsoon Asia; the first was based on land opening, the second on new irrigation construction and the third on increasing the efficiency of the existing irrigated land base. We show that these sequential shifts were induced by changes in the relative profitability of the three major means of land development for increasing food production. Rehabilitation, water management improvement and better maintenance, which are important means of irrigation development in the latest phase, are under-invested, despite their high rates of return.     

专访斯里兰卡驻华大使阿穆努加马

记者：1957年2月7日，中国和斯里兰卡两国正式建立了外交关系，在刚刚过去的2007年，两国共同庆祝了建交50周年，您如何评价目前的中斯关系？     

Manufactured exports and terms of trade of developing countries: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Terms of trade implications of diversification into manufactured exports in a traditional primary‐exporting country are examined in the light of the Sri Lankan experience over the past two decades. The empirical analysis focuses on trends in both commodity and income terms of trade, employing a methodology which takes care of the ‘spurious regression’ problem. The results suggest that, contrary to the ‘new’ terms of trade pessimism, export diversification has brought about significant terms of trade gains for the Sri Lankan economy. Overall, the study casts doubt on the robustness of results coming from analyses of price trends in aggregate manufactured exports and calls for systematic time‐profile analyses of the countries which have achieved significant export diversification in order to inform the policy debate.     

Symbolic Gestures: The Development Terrain of Post-Tsunami Villages in (Southern) Sri Lanka

This article analyses how rituals and ceremonies were deployed in the post-tsunami rehabilitation process in Sri Lanka to ‘incorporate’ development projects into the habitus and social reality of local communities. It argues that even though the aid delivery process is represented as a gift, in reality it is more concerned with strengthening the social capital of the local and foreign donors. Through this process there is an expectation and an implicit demand for acquiescence from the beneficiaries, which leaves them with a social debt. This, in turn, compels them to participate in the game of development rituals and ceremonies, in order to express their (ambivalent) gratitude and thankfulness. Through two case studies, we explore how the good intentions of donors to provide aid and alleviate suffering and the acceptance of this aid by the local communities, results in an asymmetric relationship where both become accomplices of Bourdieuian notions of subtle and gentle violence.     

The Freedom Front Plus: an analysis of Afrikaner politics and ethnic identity in the new South Africa

From the perspective of conflict analysis the main feature of contemporary South Africa is the absence of political violence. Yet it would be naive to think that the new political context is blissful to the point that ethnic tensions or anxieties do not exist. Certainly, for some groups, South Africa is not a place where ethnicity is no longer significant or politically relevant. This article explores contemporary issues relevant to Afrikaner politics and ethnicity in terms of concerns which have been voiced by its political organ – the Freedom Front Plus. The research findings point to the incompleteness of the process of conflict transformation in the country and identify certain factors that have given rise to a mood of alienation among some Afrikaners. Political and cultural disenchantment is manifested in a desire for territorial separatism. By exploring the Afrikaner perspective as it is articulated by the party, this article provides insight into the problems that surround inter-group reconciliation and nation-building in the country.     

Farewell to the Caucasus: Regional ethnic clan politics and the growing instability of the ruling elite after the 2012 presidential elections in Russia

One of the most lingering questions about Russian politics that dominates public discourse and media coverage is the future of political regime after the 2012 presidential elections. The answer to this question is inextricably linked to the extent of differences between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, how long their “tandemocracy” will last and what can bring about regime change as scarce critics of the Kremlin, from ultra-liberals to communists, have been haphazardly co-opted into the power system, leaving no political ambitions that they would not, in principle, be ready to abandon in return for proper compensation.In sharp contrast to the views of many regional experts and commentators, the present-day Russian Federation is the world's most anti-Soviet state. It is based upon a very different set of values: private ownership, dire individualism, the cult of money, a clan-based political system, and pervasive corruption at all levels of government. The North Caucasus ethnocratic elites, however, do not have access to abundant resources for sale, and are forced to look around for alternative sustenance, as rigid centralism and unification limit their rent-seeking capabilities. Alexander Khloponin, the incumbent presidential envoy in charge of the North Caucasus Federal District, seems to continue the policy of buying the loyalty of regional archaic clan-based elites that aggravates rather than improves the situation.The paper addresses this puzzle: why, against rigorous rhetoric and demonstration of tight grip over the region, neither Putin nor Medvedev has real power to bring change to the North Caucasus? In an attempt to solve this puzzle, the paper examines the triadic relationship among central political elite, who benefited from the massive privatisation of lucrative segments of Soviet industry in the early 1990s, regional clan-based ethnocracy, and non-systemic religious opposition. Drawing on the works of Russian scholars and experts in Russian politics, the paper explores the hypothesis that on-going instability in the North Caucasus can no longer be explained by a well-known set of theories of ethnic violence, because it is carefully negotiated by regional and central political elite, who do not see the North Caucasus as an indispensable part of the Russian Federation and whose clan-based rent-seeking agendas have gradually driven Russian statehood into a complete dead-end. Instead of facing the real challenges that are addressed in this paper, it is only able to make a public show of action on the eve of crucial political campaigns: the 2012 presidential elections and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The paper concludes that the deep freeze in the Russian political system has exhausted its debatable potential for change through the existing tandem model of government with its obscure division of roles between two leaders. What we actually see is an imitation of political reform and the resulting degradation of the entire system of governance. Over the past century, Russian polity has never been as weak as today, because the only legitimate source of power in Russia is corruption.     

Reviving the Caliphate in Malaysia

Operating in over 43 countries in the world, Hizbut Tahrir (HT) is presently active in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and more recently in Asia. Today, HT is becoming increasingly prominent in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. Yet despite its rapid growth in the region, little is known about HT chapters in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia. In light of the dearth in scholarship on Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM), this article aims to shed some light on the HTM and analyze the likelihood of its emergence as a political force in the country.