Tierney, Stephen

Ghaleigh, Navraj

Welikala, Asanga Sanjiv

2016-01-29T16:26:00Z

2016-01-29T16:26:00Z

2015-07-02

This thesis concerns the theoretical issues that arise in the application of the constitutional model known as the plurinational state, developed through the experience of such Western liberal democratic states as Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom, to non-Western contexts of national pluralism through the case study of Sri Lanka. There are two closely intertwined and complementary objectives to the thesis. Firstly, to provide a fresh analytical and prescriptive framework of understanding and potential solutions to the constitutionally unresolved problem of national pluralism in Sri Lanka that has so far only generated protracted conflict. Secondly and more importantly, to contribute in more general terms to the theoretical literature on plurinational constitutionalism by way of the comparative insights generated through applying the model to an empirical context that is fundamentally different in a number of ways to that from which it originally emerged. In this latter, comparative, exercise, there are three key empirical grounds of difference that are identified in the thesis. Firstly, the difference between the sociological character of nationalisms in the two contexts, defined at the most basic level by the civic-ethnic dichotomy; secondly, the different meanings of democratic modernity in the present, determined by colonial modernity and post-colonial ethnocracy; and thirdly, the differences in the substantive content of democracy as between liberal and nonliberal democracies. The thesis argues that the plurinational state may be adapted to have a role and relevance beyond Western conditions, by addressing the theoretical issues that arise from these divergences. In doing so, it seeks to demonstrate that ethnic forms of nationalism are not necessarily inconsistent with the plurinational logic of accommodation; that an exploration of pre-colonial history reveals indigenous forms of the state that are more consistent with plurinational ideals than the classical modernist Westphalian nation-state introduced by nineteenth century colonialism; and that plurinational constitutions may be based on a broader conception of democracy than political liberalism. Building on these discussions, the principal normative contribution of the thesis is the development of a constitutional theory for the accommodation of national pluralism that is based on the norm of asymmetry, as distinct from equality, between multiple nations within the territorial and historical space of the state.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/14197

en

The University of Edinburgh

R. Edrisinha & A. Welikala, ‘The Interim Self Governing Authority Proposals: A Federalist Critique’ in R. Edrisinha & A. Welikala (Eds.) (2008) Essays on Federalism in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

D. Rampton & A. Welikala, ‘The Politics of the South’ in J. Goodhand & B. Klem (Eds.) (2005) Sri Lanka Strategic Conflict Assessment, 2000 – 2005, Vol. III (Colombo: The Asia Foundation)

D. Rampton & A. Welikala, ‘Would the Real Dutugemunu Please Stand Up? The Politics of Sinhala Nationalist Authenticity and Populist Discontent’ in J. Goodhand, J. Spencer & B. Korf (Eds.) (2011) Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka: Caught in the Peace Trap? (London: Routledge)

A. Welikala (2008) A State of Permanent Crisis: Constitutional Government, Fundamental Rights and States of Emergency in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

A. Welikala, ‘Devolution within the Unitary State: A Constitutional Assessment of the Thirteenth Amendment with reference to the Experience in the Eastern Province’ in Centre for Policy Alternatives (2010) Devolution in the Eastern Province: Implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment and Public Perceptions, 2008-2010 (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

A. Welikala, ‘The Eighteenth Amendment and the Abolition of the Presidential Term Limit: A Brief History of the Gradual Diminution of Temporal Limitations on Executive Power since 1978’ in R. Edrisinha & A. Jayakody (Eds.) (2011) The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution: Substance and Process (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

A. Welikala (Ed.) (2012) The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

A. Welikala, ‘The Failure of Jennings’ Constitutional Experiment in Ceylon: How ‘Procedural Entrenchment’ led to Constitutional Revolution’ in A. Welikala (Ed.) (2012) The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives)

A. Welikala, ‘Realist Modernism in an Age of Kulturkampf’, Groundviews, 8th June 2014

A. Welikala, ‘The Sri Lankan Conception of the Unitary State: Theory, Practice and Historiography’ in A. Amarasingham & D. Bass (Eds.) (2014) Post-War Sri Lanka: Problems and Prospects (London: Hurst & Co.)

A. Welikala, ‘‘Specialist in Omniscience’? Nationalism, Constitutionalism and Sir Ivor Jennings’ Engagement with Ceylon’ in H. Kumarasingham (Ed.) (2015) Constitution Making in Asia: Decolonisation and State-Building in the Aftermath of the British Empire (London: Routledge Advances in South Asian Studies Series)

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

constitutional law

plurinational state

Sri Lanka

Beyond the liberal paradigm: the constitutional accommodation of national pluralism in Sri Lanka

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy