Contemporary Sinhala-Buddhist Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Relevance of a (Neo-) Marxist Interpretation

ABSTRACT

Post-colonial political societies, where class and caste serve as important analytical categories for understanding nationalism, often reveal a different sort of nationalism than most Western countries. Classical theories of nationalism, however, tend to simplify or overlook such important determinants in the post-colonial world. This paper discusses the class nature of nationalism and nationalist politics in Sri Lanka by applying an alternative Marxist discourse on nationalism. The paper, which is the reflection of a survey of nationalist discourse in Sri Lanka of field research, which was carried out in Sri Lanka, argues that the nature of Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism can only be understood when sufficient attention is paid to the class-based nature of politics in Sri Lanka. Only by applying such logic is it possible to unravel the role of nationalism in the country, as a powerful instrument for the political mobilisation of the Sinhalese faction of the ruling class.