Sectarian Socialism

The Politics of Sri Lanka's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)

Bibliographic Data

ID3617147
AuthorsRajesh Venugopal (0000-0002-7498-7712, University of Oxford, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume44
Issue3
Pages567-602
Publication date2010-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x09004028
OpenAlexW2138692129
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited13

This paper explores the politics of Sri Lanka's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the post-1994 period, when it re-created itself as a mainstream parliamentary political party and came to play a critical role in the collapse of the 2001-2004 peace process. The fundamental analytical enigma of the JVP lies in explaining its hybrid Marxist/Sinhala nationalist persona, which enabled it to craft a highly effective campaign of opposition to the Ranil Wickremasinghe government's two-track agenda of peace with market reforms. This paper examines how the JVP's Marxism relates to its Sinhala nationalism, and how it fits within the Sri Lanka's Marxist tradition as a whole. It argues that the JVP's increasing emphasis on Sinhala nationalism post-1999 has occurred in the context of de-radicalisation and parliamentary habilitation, and discusses the relevance of its ideological orientation to the material basis of Sinhala nationalism and its relationship with the social democratic state

Communism · Ideology · Nationalism · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Socialism · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Asian Studies and History · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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